Changing the Future (redone)
by The Patient One
Summary: One year after fulfilling their dreams, the Straw Hat Pirates are given the chance to save something they lost by being sent back in time. Who are they going to save? How will the past Straw Hats react to the future ones, and how insanely will the past be changed? No pairings. Rated T for swearing. Adopted from Blueh with his consent.
1. Prologue: The Old Man

**Greetings, everyone. For those unaware, this story was originally published by the author Blueh. He had difficulties writing the story, and a couple of months ago, I submitted ideas to him in the hopes that it would give him the inspiration he needed. After a couple of months, I followed up, and he said that he was unlikely to be writing anymore, and offered the story to me. I accepted, and have begun editing the story for my liking while remaining faithful to the original concept that he set: some time after Luffy becomes the Pirate King and the rest of the crew have fulfilled their own dreams, they're afforded a chance to return in time to save someone from their pasts. The prologue and first chapters are revisions of his versions, taking into account developments in canon that have come about since he published the story. All that follows are my ideas, fine-tuned and edited by beta readers.**

 **For those who ARE aware…let me just say that I'm rather blown away by the results. Within three hours of Blueh announcing that I would be taking over this story, 14 users began following me. I sincerely hope that what comes after the first two chapters will be worthy of such attention. For now, here is the revised prologue. Spoilers ahead up to the Dressrosa arc.**

"You all have a chance to regain something you've lost."

The old man's gray hair flopped over his head, covering his eyes and the many wrinkles across his forehead. Every breath he took seemed to be an exertion, and he spoke in a hushed voice; despite being right next to them, the ten members of the most famous pirate crew in the world, the Straw Hat Pirates, had trouble hearing him. Then again, perhaps that was to be expected after just having survived an encounter with the monsters of Rusukaina.

"A chance to regain something we've lost?" Nami asked quietly. Still, her voice quavered as she wondered if he meant what she thought he did, images of Bell-mère coming to her mind.

"Yes. As gratitude for saving me, I will grant you usage of my abilities, allowing you to travel back in time," the old man replied; quiet though his words were, they were clear.

"A Devil Fruit power?" Robin asked him, a trace of skepticism in her tone, and her face showing her typical enigmatic smile. But beneath, she hoped immensely that the old man was telling the truth; if he were, it would mean she could save her island. She could meet her mother!

"That sounds too good to be true. What's the catch?" Zoro asked.

The old man chuckled, but the Straw Hats sweatdropped in unison as he began coughing partway through.

"There is a catch," he admitted as he recovered. "Even if you save what you want to save, it won't affect you. But it will affect _you._ "

Most of those present sweatdropped again.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sanji asked.

"I think I understand. Even if we change the past, it won't affect us as we are now, but it will affect our past selves. That timeline will continue as an alternate dimension, but ours will remain as it is," Robin concluded.

"Exactly," the old man said. "I don't completely understand how it works myself, but whenever I change something from the past, the world where the change happens seems to break off from this world's fate. It's confusing, but it's useful. But, you can only save the people you want to save from one time period."

Robin frowned. "Is there a limit to how many people we can save in the time period we're sent to?"

"If they're close enough together, you can save as many as you wish. But to send so many of you back at once, I won't be able to keep you in each period for long, no more than one hour in each."

"Oh! Can we reveal ourselves to our other selves? I want to see my reaction to me from the future!" Luffy said.

The man chuckled again, more briefly. "That's your choice entirely; whether or not you reveal yourselves won't affect your future."

Luffy grinned even as he munched on a ham bone that he took from his pocket.

"Also, you can't save anyone who died of sickness," the old man added.

"W-what?" Chopper asked, tearing up a little.

"You can't save anyone—actually, hmm," the old man trailed off, a hand on his chin in thought, "forget I said that. You can save someone who died of a disease if you have the necessary medical skills to cure them."

"No need to worry, then; we've got the best doctor in the world on our crew," Usopp said, grinning at Chopper.

"Sh-shut up! Complimenting me doesn't make me happy, you jerk!" Chopper said, not fooling anyone with his big grin and happy dance.

"You sure are a strange group of pirates," the old man laughed. "I haven't seen anyone like you in decades. So, then, who are you going to save?" he asked, a strange glow coming from where his eyes were.

"Bell-mère!" Nami practically shouted. "I can't believe I get to see her again."

"My old crew," Brook said happily. "Though of course, I'd still come back to be with you all in my second life. Yohohohoho!"

"Tom!" Franky said, posing. "I can't wait to tell him what I've done!"

"You think he'll recognize you with how super you've become?" Usopp asked jokingly.

"Kuina. I can face her as the greatest swordsman in the world," Zoro said softly.

"Big bro Ti. I can prevent a lot if I manage to save him and set the rest of the crew on the right path," Jinbe said.

"I can save my island," Robin said, a dreamy smile on her face that the rest of the Straw Hats had seen only once before, when she completed the Rio Poneglyph. "If you all don't mind fighting off a Buster Call, that is."

"That's too easy, sweet Robin!" Sanji cooed, before frowning in thought. "But who should I save? Stopping that storm and shipwreck wouldn't do me any favors…and the old geezer doesn't need saving…"

"I can save Doctor! I can't wait to tell him how much I've learned," Chopper squealed.

"And I can save Ace. Then the three of us can stand together again," Luffy said, a sad smile on his face as he thought of his brothers. There was a brief silence.

"I have the destinations set for all of you, aside from the long-nosed man and the well-dressed blond man," the old man said.

Usopp sighed.

"This is too hard of a choice for me. With Chopper's skills, I could save my mother from dying when I was a kid. But I'd also love to be able to save Merry…"

The Straw Hats looked away in unison. Sanji was about to speak up, but the old man did first, his glowing eyes widened.

"Goodness me. This Merry you speak of…it is exceedingly rare for _any_ crew to care so dearly for their ship that she develops a life of her own, let alone a pirate crew."

He blinked slowly, and nodded.

"So be it. If all of you share the desire, I will allow you to return to save her as well."

"YES!" Usopp cheered, along with Luffy, Chopper, and Nami. The others' reactions were more subdued, but all of those who had sailed on the Merry were making no attempts to hide their smiles.

When the joy died down, all eyes turned to Sanji, who shrugged.

"Honestly, I was going to give up my turn for Merry; I don't really have anyone in my past that I want to save. Sure, what I went through with the old geezer was tough, but that experience gave me the respect I have for food. I'd sooner die than risk letting myself lose that gift."

"Hmm…what about something that happened on our journey? Like…Skypiea! We could go back and prevent Enel from destroying Angel Island," Nami said.

"I don't mean to be selfish, but you could also try going back to queen Otohime's assassination and stopping it from happening," Jinbe volunteered.

"Or we could help Tra-guy. Mingo killed his own brother; what would have happened if Corazon got away?" Luffy asked quietly.

Sanji frowned. "Well, now I've gone from having nobody to save to having too many options to choose from."

"I will let your turn be last; you have as long as the other journeys take to make up your mind," the old man said softly.

Sanji considered this, and then nodded.

"All right, then! Let's do it, old man! But, uh, how is this going to work?" Luffy asked.

The old man raised a withered hand, and a bright light surrounded all ten of them.

"You will be transported to the first time period. When it's time for you to go, this light will appear again about thirty seconds before you move to the next period. When you've finished your travels, you'll come back here. I'll probably be gone by the time you get back, but there will be a surprise waiting for you. So, good luck."

Everyone grinned as they considered what they would be able to do. Then the light winked out, and neither the pirates nor the old man were anywhere to be seen.

 **I hope that that was done well enough. Comments, critiques, etc., let me know. The next chapter will be published within a week, I think, but after that, it may be slow, depending on how long it takes me to elaborate on my ideas. One word of warning, though: Brook's story will not be published until after more information has been revealed in canon about just how his crew was decimated.**

 **One final note: I am still looking for beta readers for the next chapters.**


	2. Marineford, Part I

**I've kept you all waiting for this, and I apologize, but between fluctuations in inspiration and taking in the canon facts, it took a little while for me to manage this. But, here we are, the beginning of Luffy's intervention. Once again, spoilers up to the Dressrosa arc.**

The light faded as quickly as it had come, and the Straw Hats' senses slowly returned to them. It was immediately clear that they were no longer on Rusukaina Island, but the first thing that they noticed was a more personal change.

"What the heck am I wearing? Wait, what the heck are _we_ wearing?" Usopp asked.

All ten of the Straw Hat Pirates were wearing black overcoats, covering their entire bodies from neck to foot, with matching boots and even gloves. Only their faces remained unconcealed, and there were hoods on the backs of the coats with thin veils that were clearly meant to remedy that when needed.

"Part of the time travel, I guess; maybe it's to keep us from showing ourselves to who we don't want to," Zoro said, already securing his hood over his face.

"Or maybe the stress on the human body is too much for time travel normally, so we have to wear these to prevent ourselves from crumbling into ash," Robin said, smiling sweetly.

"Damn it, Robin, why do you always have to say things like that?! And what are we going to do if that's actually true? Some of the places we're going aren't exactly safe!" Nami screeched.

"Speaking of which, where have we ended up first?" Sanji asked.

It was then that they took a good look at their surroundings. Above them was a dark and cloudy sky, and beneath them was a mass of ice, a cliff in one direction and a sharp slope in the other. Luffy stood at the edge of the cliff, his hood secure already as he stared down. The others approached him, and as they did, they noted the din of war coming from nearby. Looking over the cliff erased any doubts as to where they were as they saw a scene of horrible carnage.

"Th-this is…" Usopp began. It was clearly Luffy's turn first: they had arrived at the place where their captain had entered alone, that had haunted his nightmares and those of the rest of the crew for the bulk of their two year hiatus when they learned of the death of Luffy's brother, Ace. Even now, none of the crew ever spoke of the event or the place unless Luffy brought it up first.

"Marineford," Luffy finished softly. Absentmindedly, a hand rose to touch his chest, where Akainu's scar was still on his flesh.

"Well, I guess we're saving Ace first. Guys?" Luffy asked, turning back to them. His hood obscured his face, but when he spoke, the rest of the crew could practically hear his evil grin.

"Last time I was here, I gave it everything I had, and it wasn't enough. What do you think would happen if I went all out this time?"

"Well, I'd think that the entire force of the Marines and Warlords put together would still be too much for you to handle alone," Zoro stated. "But you're not alone this time."

"And against all ten of us? I'd say it's a safe bet that this war is going to have different results this time," Sanji grinned.

"So, what's the plan, captain?" Nami asked.

"We save Ace and the old man...and Akainu and Blackbeard die," Luffy replied coldly. "And if old man Seagull doesn't call off this war, we sink the island."

"I like that plan," Franky grinned menacingly.

A blue whale-like ship came to a sudden halt in the middle of the battlefield, stopped by the strongest man in the world. Luffy nodded to himself.

"Guys, put on your hoods. If they even think that the Straw Hat Pirates were involved in this, it could mean a lot of trouble for our past selves."

The crew's incredulity at how much their captain had thought this through lasted for less than a second when they remembered what was on the line; it wasn't surprising that Luffy's idiocy was suppressed considering the where and why of their current situation.

"OK! Let's go!" Luffy ordered, and promptly vanished.

"Right!" the rest of the crew said in unison, vanishing in the same way.

* * *

"THIS IS MY FINAL CAPTAIN'S ORDER!" Whitebeard bellowed.

All of Marineford turned their attention to the Emperor. Then much of his crew began speaking out.

"What? Final—old man, don't say things like that!"

"We don't want to hear that from you!"

"We're going back to the New World together, aren't we?!"

"Pops!" Ace cried out.

"THIS IS WHERE WE PART WAYS! ALL OF YOU, STAY ALIVE AT ALL COSTS, AND RETURN TO THE NEW WORLD IN ONE PIECE!"

In horror, the pirates watched as he wound up a punch.

"O-Old man? You're planning on dying here?!"

"I'm a remnant of my era. There's no ship that's going to carry me to the new one. NOW GO!" he said, lashing out with a tremor-infused punch, aiming at Marineford's main building. It became clear that Whitebeard was endeavoring to bring down the whole island, using himself as a sacrifice to do it.

Many of the Whitebeard Pirates cried out in protest, while many of the Marines aimed straight for him in an attempt to stop him and end his life. Reluctantly, much of the crew turned away, and began to retreat. Ace, however, remained standing in stunned shock as he took in what had been said. The man who had taken him in as his son…was going to die here, for him. He was oblivious to the war happening around him for several moments, even as Marines neared him, his eyes unable to move away from the Emperor.

"ACE! Let's get out of here, or the old man's resolve will be wasted!" Luffy yelled, finally snapping Ace out of it.

"…I know. I won't let it go to waste. GET LOST, ALL OF YOU!" he added, blowing away the Marines with a burst of fire. But he wasn't going to leave without thanking that man. As the flames parted, he bowed before Whitebeard.

"No need to speak, Ace. Just answer me one thing: was I a good father?" he asked quietly.

"Of course!" Ace cried fervently. The old man laughed, and with reluctance, Ace began to run away after his brother, who was alongside Jinbe. But carnage followed behind him as the admiral with the Magma-Magma Fruit, Akainu, plowed through anyone in his way and approached them. Then he spoke.

"Running away the moment Ace was saved? The Whitebeard Pirates are a bunch of cowards. The captain, too…but it can't be helped. After all, Whitebeard is just a failure from the previous era."

Ace skidded to a stop as those words sunk in, despite the cries of protest all around him, and turned back to face the admiral.

"TAKE THAT BACK!" he snarled.

"He was stopped from becoming Pirate King by your real father, Roger, and even now, he can't become a king. He's always been a failure; how can you think otherwise?" the admiral continued ruthlessly.

"Called a father by a bunch of scum, roaming the seas like a poor excuse for a family—"

"SHUT UP!"

"Roaming around for decades without doing anything, and in the end, he got stabbed by an idiot who he called a son, and is giving his life to protect a bunch of worthless pirates! Isn't that just the emptiest life ever?"

The furious words that Ace had to respond with and the frantic warnings from all of the Whitebeard Pirates were cut short as an explosion of power burst from nearby; even he and the admiral froze up.

And the result for the rest of Marineford was cataclysmic: like a field of wheat before a gale, Marines as far as the eye could see fell on the ground, out cold. The army amassed to ensure that he was executed being incapacitated in a matter of seconds; the only ones who remained conscious were the Warlords, Vice Admirals, Admirals, and Fleet Admiral. But looking around, Ace saw that though the rest of the commanders and Whitebeard had all stiffened, none of their allies had so much as knelt.

 _That was Conqueror's Haki, it had to have been,_ Ace thought. _But who—?_

His question was answered a moment later as an enigmatic figure appeared between him and Akainu, a black cloak with matching gloves, boots, and hood obscuring its every feature. Seconds later, nine more figures in identical garments joined him, varying in shapes and sizes. Everyone on the battlefield still conscious stared at the small group, certain that they were responsible. Then the first figure spoke, a male tone that Ace almost recognized, but it was stained with venom.

"The only thing empty here is your head, Akainu. What gives you the right to criticize someone like Whitebeard, when you worship monsters like the World Nobles?"

Akainu grimaced.

"They are descendants of the fathers of this world's Justice, and I will—"

"Stop talking crap. They're no more righteous than that reject, Doflamingo," a second figure spat quietly, tapping his foot against the ice beneath him…and cracking it.

Akainu's eyes widened; there were precious few who knew of the Donquixote legacy.

"Who are you?!" he demanded.

"All you need to know is that we're allies of the Whitebeard Pirates. More specifically, allies of Portgas D. Ace and his brother. Sorry, but you won't be killing either of them," said another figure that held two swords blackened with Haki, in a voice that both brothers almost recognized. Akainu's grimace grew, and pulled back a fist of magma.

"If you dare to stand in my way, then you'll share their fate! One way or the other, Dragon's son and Roger's son WILL DIE TODAY!" he roared, the punch lunging forward. The figure that had blocked the first blow held out a single hand in an almost lazy movement. Akainu's punch struck the hand…and the admiral stared in renewed fury, unable to make the man so much as budge. The cloaked figure raised his other hand and threw it forward, and Akainu was barely able to block it before he went sliding backwards.

"OLD MAN! TAKE YOUR SONS AND FALL BACK! THIS IS OUR WAR NOW!" the figure shouted. On cue, the man leapt towards Akainu, the other eight spread out to attack, and the last one, a rather large figure, grabbed both Ace and Luffy and began running back towards the Emperor, who was glowering at the figure.

"Ordering me to run away from battle? Cheeky brat…who the hell are you?" he asked, directing his question to the large figure, who threw the two brothers up on to the whale ship before looking around. His eyes found a whale shark fishman, and he beckoned him over.

* * *

Akainu was positively livid as he stared at the hooded stranger. He took pride in his strength as an Admiral; nobody fighting against the Marines in this war except for Whitebeard himself would be capable of doing more than slowing him down if he set his mind to a target. And that was what he was doing: the sons of Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Dragon had too much potential against the World Government; their fathers had been bad enough. Their lineages had to end there, and then the Government would be one step closer to annihilating the Will of D that had been allowed to endure over the past few centuries.

But all of that thought only served to make him more furious at the stranger, who had blocked and countered his attack with no effort. And now that the stranger had gained his full attention, he wasn't even bothering to block, just dodging out of the way of his blows. He moved with all of the speed he had, striking as hard and fast as he could, but the man evaded him.

"What's wrong, Akainu?" the man asked in a tone that seemed to be playful mockery. But there was something else in his tone, and if the Admiral had to guess, he'd say it was hatred.

"I thought you were stronger than this? How disappointing. You couldn't touch those two brothers, and now you can't even touch me. I guess you're just a failure."

"SHUT UP!" the Admiral roared, unleashing his magma in a massive stream towards the man. He dodged again, but the stream coiled around towards where he appeared, and another stream joined it. The process continued until a pool of magma surrounded the man, and with all of the energy Akainu could muster, he compressed the pool into two streams that coiled around the man, blocking him from sight as they grew into a double helix spire. Finally, the spire collapsed into a sphere before plunging downwards, Akainu cutting off the connection to his body as he forced the ball beneath the ice. A geyser of steam erupted from where it descended, and a red-hot stone solidified a moment later. The stone slowly sunk beneath the surface, though the geyser continued to spout. Akainu panted slightly, infuriated that he had been brought that far, especially as he felt the steam rush against him and solidify his body. But his rage was cooled as he saw the proof of the man's demise.

"Take that, you cocky brat. That's your punishment for standing against Justice," he snarled.

"And I'll admit that that would have been an impressive punishment, if you had actually managed to touch me," came a voice from behind him.

Akainu spun around on his heels, and a punch from an obsidian hand grazed his face, as he was unable to dodge fast enough. Blatant disbelief came across his face, even surpassing his rage for the moment. He had known from the start that the man somehow knew the Shave technique, and it was a fair guess that he had Observation Haki, too. But not even both of those together could grant the speed needed to escape the attack he performed; that needed something more, which could only mean…

"You have Devil Fruit powers," Akainu snarled.

"Yep."

There was no mistaking it. That was definitely hatred in his tone. Then he raised a hand, and Akainu just barely made out that it was blackened with Haki, and that steam was flowing out of it as well as around it before it burst into flames. Then all he knew was pain.

The man moved with ruthlessness that he himself would have been proud of, his flaming fists seeming to multiply as they pummeled every inch of him. His Logia defenses were useless, his own Haki failed to do more than muffle the pain, and every blow that he attempted to strike was crippled against the man's own strength.

It was barely a minute when Akainu fell to his knees, every inch of him beaten, bleeding, or bruised. Through all his pride, he saw the facts: he was outmatched against this man, his powers were useless, and this man hated him. It was likely that he was going to lose…to die.

"…Tell me…who are you?" Akainu said, venom dripping from his tone as he accepted the reality of the situation.

The man raised a hand to his hood…and then changed his mind, and lowered the hand again.

"I am Gold Roger's successor as the Pirate King."

Akainu's eyes widened, and whatever resistance he had left found its way into his speech.

"Impossible. The Government would know if any pirate had made it to Raftel, and One Piece is just a myth! I'll admit you're powerful, but you're lying. You're just—"

"I DID make it to Raftel, I DID find One Piece, and I AM the Pirate King. I just haven't done it yet, in this time. An old man with a mystery power sent my crew back to the past to save something that we lost before."

Akainu glowered at the man; strange though his words were, they explained everything perfectly. No…almost everything.

"Even if I believe you…what did I do to make you hate me so much?" he snarled.

"Two things, actually. One, you're a dog of the World Government. One of those stupid Celestial Dragons almost killed my brother when he was just ten, and nobody cared. The fact that you don't care about life makes me sick. And two…you're why I lost what I did. You murdered my other brother right in front of me. He DIED IN MY ARMS BECAUSE OF YOU!" the man screamed.

Hearing those words, Akainu's eyes widened as everything clicked. But the last words that fell from his mouth were defiance:

"Well, that just means that he deserved it. He was a pirate, and he was weak, son of Dragon."

"ACE ISN'T WEAK!" the man that he now knew to be Straw Hat Luffy screamed. As the steam around them finally began to disperse, he pulled back his arm, and even as it hardened and ignited, it GREW. Not much, but about as big as a normal person. The Pirate King punched forward, and Akainu grimaced ferociously as the fist penetrated his torso. It retracted a moment later, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of his body.

"That was for my brothers," Luffy spat, turning away and not giving another thought to the dying man as he made his way towards where his past self and brother waited.

* * *

From the moment that the wave of Haki had erupted from the stranger, knocking out everyone allied with the Marines beneath the level of a Vice Admiral in power, Sengoku had been paying very close attention. At the moment that the strangers scattered, he shouted out to the remainder of his allies.

"IGNORE THE WHITEBEARD PIRATES! FOCUS ON THE STRANGERS! KILL THEM!"

He watched as Akainu fought against the man who was buying time for Whitebeard and his allies…and his eyes widened as he saw that the man was not only holding him off, but _toying_ with him, not even fighting him. Looking around at the rest of his forces, the results weren't any more encouraging. Aokiji seemed to be even with the swordsman with Haki-infused swords. Kizaru was barely fending off a man who was fighting with powerful kicks. The Vice Admirals could barely stand up against a tall, thin swordsman whose cuts left ice on their bodies, an onslaught of massive plants from a man with a slingshot, and a short, squat figure that moved with vaguely familiar martial arts techniques. And as for the Warlords…only Gecko Moria was fighting, and he was being rather savagely beaten by a rather bulky figure with enormous arms. Hancock, Kuma, and Mihawk all stood before a lone feminine figure, not attacking as she spoke to them. Doflamingo, predictably, was simply relaxing and relishing the chaos of the situation.

As Akainu's lava attack created a makeshift geyser, blocking him from view, the Fleet Admiral had had enough, and moved into the fray himself, taking on his Buddha form as he surged towards the group that had so effortlessly defeated the Vice Admirals. The man with the slingshot aimed at him, and Sengoku prepared a shockwave. His Haki warned him of an attack from behind him at the same time that the shot fired. Too late, he realized that the projectile wasn't a plant, and the attack from behind proved to be the same as the one in front, neutralizing his attack and form.

 _Sea prism stone_ , he realized with anger and horror, handcuffs from the sniper coiling around his neck while what felt like a rod of the oceanic mineral hit him from behind. He struggled to get up, to throw off the restraints, but a blade pressed to the back of his neck, and a cold mist flowed off of it that nearly gave him frostbite.

"We have no grudge against you, Sengoku. I suggest that you stand down," he said quietly.

The Fleet Admiral grimaced, but sagged, the sea prism stone and blade practically cutting into his throat robbing him of the potential to fight back. He quietly cursed himself for being defeated so easily.

"Garp. We have even less inclination to kill you than we do Sengoku. Stand down."

Sengoku carefully looked over and saw a livid Garp standing a few feet away, holding himself back from attacking with a visible effort.

"One of ours is convincing Whitebeard to leave Marineford with his life…and with Marineford intact. I suggest that you command your forces to allow it; enough blood has been spilled already. If you still want to fight, we won't hesitate to destroy the island," came a female voice, the source clear with Haki but her body somehow invisible. Sengoku and Garp's grimaces intensified.

"Who the hell are you people?" they demanded.

"That's for us to know," said the invisible woman. "Let's just say that we have an invested interest in the well-being of your grandchildren, Garp, and leave it at that." Garp's anger visibly faltered, and his posture relaxed the slightest amount.

"Where did you come from?"

"That's for us to know, too," said the sniper. "Let's just say that you'll probably never see us again after we leave. Now, I'd suggest you hurry up and surrender, considering what our captain did to the one who tried to kill Ace."

Garp's anger returned for a moment, and he looked in the direction of Akainu. Then any anger he had left in his mind vanished, and he and Sengoku both looked in shock as they saw the end result of the battle between the cloaked captain and the admiral: Akainu's kneeling form penetrated right through the middle by an oversized fist, withdrawing to leave a bloody, burning mess. The admiral slumped back, and fell on the ground. He would never move again.

"It's time to make your choice, Sengoku. Stand down, or fight. And we assure you, you won't do any better than Akainu did," the swordsman said, his voice as chilling as his blade.

The Fleet Admiral grimaced, but before he could attempt to fight back, another bellow shook Marineford:

"MY SONS! WE RETURN TO THE NEW WORLD TOGETHER!"

Sengoku's eyes widened; Whitebeard was actually standing down and retreating?

"You have nothing more to gain from continuing to fight, Sengoku. Give the order...please," said the smallest figure. The childish voice spoke to him in a way, and he sighed before raising his head and his voice.

"MARINES! STAND DOWN!"

The instant the words left his mouth, the sword at his neck was removed. He stood on his feet and faced the battlefield. "GATHER THE INJURED AND GET THEM THE NECESSARY TREATMENT! THIS WAR IS OVER!" He then lowered his voice to a much less audible pitch as he bowed his head in shame. "...And we've lost."

"A wise choice regardless, Sengoku."

The figures stepped back, the invisible woman materializing before she spoke again.

"I'm going to put this in a way you'll understand, Sengoku: picture yourself and the Marines in Whitebeard's place, and the rest of the world in your place, fighting this war. That's what would have happened if they captured _your_ son and advertised it, all because of the sins of the father. Remember that."

Sengoku stiffened, but the strangers said no more before they turned away and vanished in a burst of Shaving. The words rang through his mind, however, even as they departed.

* * *

Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate, one of the Four Emperors of the New World, captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, former rival of Gol D. Roger, user of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, and the current holder of the title 'strongest man in the world,' was a man that nobody with half a brain would intentionally provoke, because the result, as shown with the ruins of Marineford, was nothing less than outright war. He was old, however, and he was prepared to make this place his final resting ground, taking down the headquarters of the Marines along with him. As long as his sons would be safe, he would be satisfied.

But that mysterious man and his tiny crew had shown up out of nowhere, with a wave of Haki that almost made even his hair bristle. Almost…but he had only ever felt Haki of that magnitude from one other man. Feeling it again now, more than twenty years after the Pirate King's death, was enough to give Whitebeard pause. He observed the man, he and his crew talking down the most ruthless of the admirals, up until the point where Akainu tried to attack. "Tried" being the key word; as the man blocked a fist of magma with one hand and knocked him back with the other, the stirrings of an old emotion rose in Whitebeard's mind. It took a minute before he realized that he was almost thunderstruck by this new development.

"OLD MAN! TAKE YOUR SONS AND FALL BACK! THIS IS OUR WAR NOW!"

And that was the end of his shock. His pride returned in full force as the man ordered him to leave and promised to cover him.

"Ordering me to run away from battle? Cheeky brat."

Then he saw that one of the cloaked figures, a large and somewhat round fellow, was running towards him, Ace under one arm and his cheeky brother under the other.

"Who the hell are you?" Whitebeard asked. The figure did not respond immediately, throwing the two brothers up onto the whale ship before looking around, and beckoning Jinbe over. The whale shark fishman complied.

"What do you want?" Jinbe demanded. The other figure raised both his gloved hands, and lowered his hood.

The thunderstruck feeling stirred again as Whitebeard saw the face of the same fishman that he was facing on the head of the cloaked figure, if a bit older and more weathered. Jinbe, on the other hand, gaped openly at the sight. _That expression does not suit him_ , Whitebeard thought absently.

"I am Jinbe, martial arts expert of the Pirate King's crew. It was three years from now that we came across an old man who had a Devil Fruit with time-based abilities. He offered to send us back and let us save something that we lost. My captain chose here; if not for us, Akainu would have killed Ace and Luffy would have barely made it out of this with his life."

His voice became harder as he looked up at Whitebeard.

"Old man, I know you intended to die here. But for the sake of your family, and those who rely on you for protection: live just a while longer. Die among the ones that you love, and leave your legacy with those who can carry it on. You've done so much for all of us, and now that I have the chance to do this, I'm begging you, don't die today."

The whale shark fishman bowed low, his forehead touching the ice, and after a moment, his past self joined him. Whitebeard stared at the two for a few moments, the decision already coming to his mind with all that had been said; the fishmen as a race would be left vulnerable immediately upon his death, to say nothing for the others. And his sons…he was satisfied, but he could not say that he would be unhappy with being among his family a little while longer. This wasn't a retreat. The fight was already won.

"I grant you your request, Jinbe, First Son of the Sea," he rumbled, turning to the whale ship and putting his strength into his legs. He leapt the full distance onto the bow, and then bellowed.

"MY SONS! WE RETURN TO THE NEW WORLD TOGETHER!"

A collective cry of joy came among all of the Whitebeard Pirates, many of those onboard the ship already coming to embrace him. Whitebeard stared at the scene around him, taking in with some surprise the impaled and dying figure of Akainu, and the fights going on between the remaining two admirals and cloaked figures.

"MARINES! STAND DOWN!"

Sengoku's cry echoed throughout the area, and Whitebeard once again felt that long-forgotten shock surface as he saw the Fleet Admiral at the mercy of the other figures…and that Aokiji and Kizaru were the only Marines still fighting. Seeing their superior thus subdued, however, they reluctantly complied, and fell back. Sengoku was allowed to stand, and the nine other cloaked figures retreated, making their way back towards where Whitebeard stood.

"GATHER THE INJURED, AND GET THEM THE NECESSARY TREATMENT! THIS WAR IS OVER!" he yelled.

Nobody noticed that much of the events that had unfolded were caught by a Transponder Snail in the hands of a small-time pirate with a big-time past. Most of those present did notice, however, a rather large figure that suddenly appeared behind Marineford.

"Wait a second. Is that…'Colossal Battleship' Sanjuan Wolf?" Ace asked incredulously. "He was imprisoned in Level 6 of Impel Down! How did he get here?!"

"Take a look over there for your answer," said the older Jinbe, his hood now replaced as he pointed to a nearby section of ice. There stood ten figures, and Whitebeard felt his blood boil as he saw the one in the lead, grinning down at him before cackling.

"ZEHAHAHAHAHA! IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME, OLD MAN!"

 **And, cliffhanger. But don't worry, I'm not going to separate this into more than two parts, and I also don't intend to separate any of the other chapters into parts. Now, a few notes as to why I'm changing things the way that I am for certain parts of this story.**

 **Note I: The Moby Dick was destroyed long before Luffy managed to free Ace, so they're not escaping that way. And on that note, Whitebeard left his nurses behind when he went off to the war, already resigning himself to not coming back.**

 **Note II: When Ace was freed, Whitebeard resigned himself to dying, sacrificing himself to take down Marineford, rather than escaping with his sons.**

 **Note III: There is NO Note III.**

 **As for the rest of this chapter…I could have added more detail with some of the other fights, but this is meant to be Luffy's chapter first and foremost, so I thought too much detail on those other fights wouldn't be best. Not much more to say for now, except this: I'm honestly not sure which option Sanji would choose for who he would save. So, I'm leaving it up to you; leave a review with your vote as for which of the options you'd rather have. You have until Chapter 9 is published; each vote counts only once, but you may vote for up to two of the choices, plus any more that you might have besides the ones I've listed already. If I like an idea you submit enough, or if at least three people submit the same idea, I'll edit it into the prologue.**

 **So, the second half should be up in a week or so. In the meantime, remember: Patience is a virtue.**


	3. Marineford, Part II

**OK, this took longer than I anticipated, but when I brainstormed ideas for this story a couple of months ago, Blackbeard wasn't part of the consideration, so I had to give some serious thought as to how I wanted this battle to play out. But, the wait is over now.**

Ace stared with disbelieving eyes at the situation; this had turned from the worst day of his life into the downright weirdest day of his life. First those strange people in cloaks appeared, decimating the entire Marine army, carrying him and his brother back to the ships, and fighting the man who had dared to insult his father. Now, here he was on the ship, staring down at the cloaked figure that had carried him as he beckoned Jinbe over. He saw that he was about to take off his hood before a thud behind him made him turn around.

"Luffy!" he exclaimed, moving to kneel beside his brother, who had collapsed on the ground.

"I…I'm fine, Ace. I'm just glad you're safe," Luffy said weakly.

"Fine?! You're completely exhausted! What did you DO to yourself?"

"Iva used his tension hormones so I could keep fighting. I guess they've worn off now. I'll be fine after I get some meat," Luffy mumbled.

In spite of himself, Ace chuckled; that was his little brother. Always thinking more about meat than anything other than his family and friends.

"We'll probably feast on Sea Kings once this is over. But meanwhile…who the hell are those guys in the cloaks?" he asked, lifting Luffy up as he watched the battle.

Both brothers' jaws slowly fell to hit the deck as they saw the results of the fights unfold, everything going in their favor. Akainu was dying, Aokiji and Kizaru were held off, Sengoku and Garp were subdued, Gecko Moria was defeated, the other Warlords were not fighting, and everyone else among the Marines was down for the count. Then the deck shook as Whitebeard jumped onto the bow, and bellowed,

"MY SONS! WE RETURN TO THE NEW WORLD TOGETHER!"

Ace almost dropped Luffy to go and hug the old man, but he held back, settling for shouting with joy like the rest of the crew as they returned to the ships. As some of the cloaked figures also made it onto the deck, another yell pierced Marineford:

"MARINES! STAND DOWN!"

At Sengoku's command, the two cloaked figures fighting the admirals stopped attacking, and took defensive positions. Seeing Sengoku as he was, the admirals reluctantly retreated over to him. The cloaked figures holding him down fled towards them, and Sengoku yelled again as he stood.

"GATHER THE INJURED AND GET THEM THE NECESSARY TREATMENT! THIS WAR IS OVER!"

Ace couldn't help but smile as he heard those words. Looking around, he was about to ask the cloaked figures just who they were, but as he spotted the colossal figure nearby, behind Marineford, he postponed those questions in favor of the more immediate:

"Wait a second. Is that…'Colossal Battleship' Sanjuan Wolf? He was imprisoned in Level 6 of Impel Down! How did he get here?"

"Take a look over there for your answer," said the cloaked figure who had carried him, his tone grim. Ace's eyes followed to where his finger pointed, noting that all of the others in cloaks were looking that way, too. Then he felt his blood boil as his eyes locked onto the one man that he could never forgive.

"ZEHAHAHAHAHA! IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME, OLD MAN!"

Marshall D. "Blackbeard" Teach stood at the scaffolding of Marineford, looking around the battlefield with a wide grin. Alongside him were nine crewmates, among which he recognized Avalo Pizarro, Catarina Devon, Vasco Shot, and Shiliew of the Rain, other criminals that had been imprisoned in the lowest depths of Impel Down long ago.

" _Teach_ ," Ace snarled, already burning, but a strong hand from the figure that had grabbed him rested on his shoulder, while another two figures stood in front of him. Ace missed the exchange between Sengoku and Shiliew as he spoke quietly.

"Don't be a fool, Ace. You lost last time, and he's only gotten stronger since then. But no matter what happens, Teach isn't walking out of here alive. Even if the old man doesn't win, Teach is the only person that my captain hates as much as Akainu, and you see what happened to him."

Shaking off the fact that the voice seemed very familiar, not to mention the familiarity with which the figure spoke to him, Ace looked back at the corpse of the strongest admiral, a massive hole burned through his torso, and then at his captain. Whitebeard only stared at the man whom he had once called his son as he began to gloat.

"As pirates that were enemies of the Government, it would be impossible to open the Gates of Justice and enter Impel Down! And of course, that's the only reason I needed the title of Warlord! Now I don't need it anymore!"

"So, your only goal all along was to break into Impel Down!" Whitebeard snarled, pulling a hand back. Blackbeard had hardly any warning before the tremor-infused punch cracked the air and sent the shockwave surging towards the Blackbeard Pirates. The crew barely dodged, dropping down to the ground, but none were the worse for wear from the fall.

 _As expected of anyone who could sail the New World_ , Ace thought sourly, trying to look past the figures that were blocking him from going after Teach himself.

"You are the only scum I could never call my son, Teach! You broke the only ironclad rule of my ship by killing a crewmate! Nobody interfere! In the name of 4th Division Commander Thatch, I'll take your life personally!" Whitebeard roared, leaping back down from the whale ship.

"Zehahahaha! Just what I was hoping for! BLACK HOLE!"

A pool of darkness that Ace recognized spiraled out, seeping the battleground in darkness.

"Thatch died…and so did Ace, didn't he, old man? I really did respect and admire you, from the bottom of my heart, but you've gotten old! Even when I brought Ace here alive, you couldn't stop a single comrade from being executed!"

That was the breaking point for Ace; a column of fire erupted from the ship and him with it, the cloaked figures not moving in time to stop him as he shot forward like a meteor towards the wretched man.

" _TEEEEEAAAAACH!"_ he screamed. Blackbeard looked up in horror as Ace scattered his flames all around him, no longer unaware of the bastard's powers…and weaknesses. Pouring all of the energy he had into his powers, a hundred flaming lances formed around him, hovering in midair as he landed just outside the darkness.

"Sorry, Pops, but I'm not going to stand by and listen to this crap. SAINT ELMO'S FIRESTORM!" Ace yelled, waving his hands forward and sending the onslaught of lances straight into Blackbeard. The now former Warlord spat out blood as his concentration failed, the darkness dispersing around him as he was simultaneously burned and skewered all over his body. Ace collapsed from the sudden exertion, and one of the cloaked figures—the one who had killed Akainu, he realized—picked him up onto his shoulder.

"Nice shot, Ace," he said softly. Again, Ace noted the familiarity both of the voice and in the tone; he knew these people, but who were they?

"Old man. I don't know how much longer I can hold myself back in front of that bastard. If you're going to kill him, you had better do it fast, or else I'll handle it myself," the figure snarled as Blackbeard used his powers to siphon off the fire, though many injuries yet remained.

"Don't order me around…your highness," Whitebeard rumbled, confusing Ace. As the figure who held him retreated several paces, the Emperor wound back an arm, preparing to strike.

"N-not so fast, old man! BLACK VORTEX!" Blackbeard yelled, extending an arm out. Whitebeard was drawn in, and his elbow touched Teach's arm. The now panting traitor grinned at his 'captive.'

"Zehahahaha! How do you like that? You won't be causing earthquakes anymore!"

Ace was caught between the urge to smirk and facepalm at Blackbeard's sheer stupidity as Whitebeard nonchalantly swung his bisento with his other arm, cutting so severe a blow in the Logia that it severed his left arm and most of his left side.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH! IT HURTS! IT HURTS, DAMMIT!" Blackbeard wailed, falling back on the ground and clutching his body,

"You overestimate your ability, and you have weak defenses. You're weak, Teach," Whitebeard said calmly, leaning down and grasping the man's face with a force that betrayed the anger beneath.

Blackbeard looked in sheer horror at the monstrous man that he had tried to kill even as he felt force cluster around his face.

"S-S-STOP! OLD MAN, YOU WOULDN'T KILL YOUR OWN SON, WOULD YOU?!"

Then a scream pierced the air that made even Ace wince, squeezing his eyes shut. When he opened them again, Whitebeard was standing up, and the Blackbeard Pirates, new recruits and all, were looking with pure shock at the figure on the ground, which was now short a head as well as a left side.

"C-captain…" the mime-like Lafitte stammered, falling to his knees, mouth agape.

The champion wrestler Jesus Burgess was the first to break out of it, his fist clenching as he surged towards Whitebeard.

"YOU MONSTER! HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO OUR CAPTAIN!"

One of the cloaked figures appeared in front of Whitebeard, deflecting Burgess with a simple kick that sent him flying into Catarina and several meters back. The swordsman appeared next, and Ace was handed into the arms of another figure with enormous and very hard arms as the captain moved forwards, cracking his knuckles.

"Old man. Mind if we take the rest of the crew?" he asked, his voice as hard as steel.

"Knock yourselves out, I'm satisfied," Whitebeard muttered, turning and moving back towards Ace. He gave a small smile.

"Good work, son."

Ace smiled weakly as the figure that held him moved with Whitebeard back towards the whale ship, ignoring the screams of agony behind them. When they reached the deck, they found the other six figures supporting Luffy, who was looking at Ace with…yeah, literally with stars in his eyes. He never understood how Luffy did that.

"THAT WAS AWESOME, ACE!"

Ace chuckled, but the figure holding him dropped him rather abruptly, and he crashed onto the deck in a heap.

"But you shouldn't exhaust yourself like that in front of a bunch of superhumans who probably want to kill you," said the offending figure.

"Oh, shut up," Ace snarled, glaring up at him; it was sound advice, and he sounded like he meant it, but the amusement in his tone and the fact that a lot of people around him were stifling their laughter—with varying levels of success—made it clear that they were enjoying what had just happened a little too much. At that point, however, a series of explosions reached their ears, and they turned to see the three figures that had decimated Blackbeard's crew now making short work of…a small army of Bartholomew Kumas?

"Those poor Pacifistas," said a tall, thin figure with a tone as dry as bones, while the sumo wrestler-like Sentomaru leading the army simply gaped at the destruction.

"SENTOMARU, ORDER THEM TO STAND DOWN!" Sengoku shouted.

The three cloaked figures stopped for a few moments, clearly ready to attack more, but the numerous craters left by their assault already made Sentomaru sag.

"All units, stand down. They leave unharmed."

The few who had been charging up lasers stopped, and stilled. With that, the trio made their way back to the whale ship at blinding speeds, appearing next to Ace faster than he could say 'what the hell?'

"All right, let's set sail," said the captain. Finally, Ace recognized where he thought he had heard it from, and the sudden rush from the shock of that gave him enough energy to sit up and stare at him incredulously.

"You…that voice!" Ace began, but the round figure that had first brought him to the ship spoke up.

"Not now, Ace. Wait until we're out of the _headquarters of the Marines_ before we talk; we're hiding our faces for a reason."

Ace sighed, but conceded the point. Whitebeard slowly moved to a seat that had been prepared for him on the ship's deck as the fleet moved out of Marineford, and all of the division commanders stood or sat by him, just glad that he had decided not to die. Boa Hancock followed behind them while Mihawk departed by a different route, and Sengoku, Garp, Aokiji, and Kizaru all stared after them as they departed, none daring to interfere and satisfying themselves by rounding up the very, very unconscious Blackbeard Pirates.

As they sailed away, one of the figures moved up to Whitebeard, producing bandages and medicine and beginning to tend the Emperor's wounds. The old man made no motion to stop it, and the ease with which he felt his body recovering, even the bullet and sword wounds, stirred the long forgotten surprise again. The figure wordlessly moved to each of the division commanders in turn as well as Luffy, and he was still in the midst of it when Marineford vanished over the horizon. At that moment, Whitebeard sat up, staring at the captain of the cloaked figures.

"All right, we're far enough away from Marineford. Now, show me your face, Pirate King," Whitebeard said. All of the people on the deck looked with incredulity as the cloaked captain removed his hood at last. Revealed beneath was a young man with black hair, a small scar under one eye, and a wide grin.

"Luffy?!" Ace demanded.

"Straw Hat?!" Whitebeard said, gaping ever so slightly.

"ME?!" Luffy cried out, his jaw hitting the deck and sagging on the ground. The older Luffy fell to the ground laughing.

"Oh, that's too good! You should see your faces!" he choked out.

"Old man, that look really doesn't suit you," the rounder figure said with amusement, removing his hood to reveal a mirror of the fishman Warlord who had resigned out of loyalty to Whitebeard. All of the other people removed their hoods as well, revealing a group of faces that Ace recognized. Luffy's swordsman, Roronoa Zoro, though he had a scar over his left eye. The navigator, Nami, with waist-length hair. The sniper, Usopp, who seemed to have matured some. The cook, Sanji, who now had his right eye covered by hair. The doctor, Chopper, who…well, besides the hat, he didn't look that different. Then there were three others. He recognized Nico Robin from the wanted poster, but his wonder about her was subdued when he saw that the other two were a massive man with a metal nose and a buzzcut and a skeleton with an afro.

"Jinbe?" Marco demanded. "And Ace's kid brother? WHAT THE HELL?"

"Y-you guys," younger Luffy said in shock, tearing up a little. "I thought you all got separated at Sabaody."

"We did, Luffy," Nami said gently. "We still are. We're not the crew you know today."

"We're from about three years in the future, when we've already realized all of our dreams," Usopp continued.

"The future? And how and why did you come here?" Ace demanded.

The older Luffy looked at him, and Ace suddenly felt very uncomfortable; the darkened, haunted look was horribly out of place on Luffy's face.

"An old man with a mystery power let us go back in time to save someone that we lost before. Ace, in my time, you fought Akainu and lost, horribly. You barely managed to hold him off, but then he went after me when my strength ran out again. You took the blow…and died in my arms," Luffy said quietly.

An uncomfortable silence fell on the ship for a minute or so, and Ace heard the words of the promise he made to Luffy as a child echo through his mind.

 _"I'll never die!"_

He had failed that promise. And he saw the results of that failure as he looked at his brother's eyes.

"…I'm sorry, Luffy," Ace said, unable to say more. And it seemed to be more than the apparent Pirate King could handle, as he moved over and hugged Ace with strength that nearly choked him.

"Agh…Luffy…too tight," he managed. The captain loosened up a bit, and Ace returned the hug after a moment. It seemed like hours passed before the two brothers finally released each other, and Luffy stepped back.

"So…what happens now?" Ace asked.

Luffy smiled sadly. "The mystery power only lasts for an hour, and from what the old man said, this won't change anything in our time. I'm just glad I could see you again one more time, big brother," he said. His expression then became less melancholy as he realized something.

"But at least now the three of you can be together again!"

Luffy and Ace both blinked in confusion.

"Three of us? What do you mean?" younger Luffy asked.

"Sabo is alive," Nico Robin said with a smile.

"Robiiin! _I_ wanted to say it," older Luffy whined as Ace and younger Luffy stared in disbelief.

"…He's…alive?"

"When those World Nobles fired on his ship, he was seriously injured, but he was picked up by a man that was visiting the island at the time: the revolutionary, Monkey D. Dragon. He's grown up to become the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army," Robin continued, and older Luffy pouted ferociously. Ace would have found the sight amusing if the news wasn't so groundbreaking.

"Then why the hell hasn't he showed himself to us?" he demanded.

"He lost his memories from the attack, and didn't get them back until he saw the newspaper with you dead!" Luffy said quickly, looking defiantly at Robin, who merely giggled along with a couple of others on the crew.

 _Amnesia? I guess that makes sense, after an accident like that. Still…_

"Pops. Can you get in touch with Dragon?"

"Probably, Ace," Whitebeard said, smiling slightly.

"I hate to interrupt this, but we don't have a lot of time left, and we have more that we need to say," Sanji said, looking up at the old man.

"Things have seriously changed with what we've done. In our time, Blackbeard and his crew killed you and somehow stole your Tremor-Tremor Fruit. He usurped you as an Emperor and had his reign of terror over all of the islands that you used to protect. Make sure that you have something prepared for those islands for when you're gone."

"Fishman Island had to turn to Big Mom for protection, and if it wasn't for…certain events, she probably would have destroyed the whole island," Jinbe continued.

"'Certain events?'" past Jinbe asked.

"Sorry, I can't say more without going against my captain's orders; he doesn't want to go on any adventures where he knows what's going to happen. Knowing that I join the crew is probably too much already."

Past Jinbe sighed, but nodded.

"Any other world-changing news you'd like us to know?" Whitebeard asked dryly.

"One more thing, yeah," older Luffy said, looking at his younger self with an expression of dead seriousness. He fumbled with the coat he wore, and pulled it apart to show his chest. Many onboard gasped or stiffened as they saw the jagged X-shaped scar there.

"You're not strong enough to take on the New World yet, Luffy, and Kuma knew it; he works for Dad. Everyone on the crew was sent flying somewhere that they could train themselves to get stronger, as fast as they could. But it took Ace dying in my arms for me to realize just how _not_ ready I was. You need to wait and train, or you won't last five minutes in the New World."

The younger Luffy's expression was unreadable. It was a full minute before he responded. "What do I need to do?"

"Send out a message to everyone to wait two years before they head back to Sabaody, and ask Rayleigh to train you in Haki. The journey still won't be easy, but it'll be possible once you've learned all of it. Oh, yeah, and when you get to the New World, make sure you help Trafalguy."

"That guy with the weird room power?" younger Luffy asked.

"In my time, he helped me get me away from Marineford. Don't let anyone else find this out, but he's a D, too."

Luffy tilted his head.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Zoro chuckled. "You'll just have to wait to find out, captain."

Younger Luffy nodded, but frowned.

"How'd you lose your eye?"

Zoro chuckled again.

"Like your older self said, Kuma sent all of us to places where we could grow a lot stronger in a hurry. I got blown away to Mihawk's home island."

"WHAAAT? MIHAWK TRAINED YOU HIMSELF?" asked several of the people on the crew.

"AWESOME!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Yeah, but it wasn't so awesome for some of the rest of us," Sanji groused. Blinking in realization, he looked around. "Ivankov is somewhere around here, right?"

"He should be on one of the other boats. Why?" past Jinbe asked.

"Tell him or her or whatever that I don't look like that stupid wanted poster, all right?" the cook requested.

"...You trained with Ivankov?"

The chef grimaced, and huffed. "If nothing else, I'll admit that their Attack Cuisine recipes were worth it."

A few of those on the deck gained looks of understanding. Then Whitebeard spoke up again.

"Straw Hat...Pirate King. How much of that hour do you have left?"

Luffy frowned, and looked at his crew.

"I think we've got roughly twenty more minutes," Nami stated.

"That'll do. My sons!" he shouted abruptly, gaining everyone's attention. Then he smiled. "This is cause for celebration. Break out the good stuff, and let's have a party."

"ON IT, POPS!" the pirates cheered.

* * *

The Moby Dick had been destroyed, but with that being the only blight on the Whitebeard Pirates' victory, the celebration was as raucous as one could expect.

The Straw Hats' musician, shipwright, doctor, and sniper all attracted such attention amidst the Whitebeards that even the other commanders were cheering them on. The swordsman was grinning madly as he found that many of the commanders were actually capable of keeping up with drinking with him, and the navigator was right beside him. The two Jinbes seemed somewhat subdued as they spoke, but even they were unable to resist partaking of the crew's activities. The chef was making a spectacle of preparing dish after dish of delicious food, which the captain, his past self, and Ace were taking particular pleasure in scarfing down, attempting with varying degrees of success to steal off of each others' plates and calling it a Haki competition. The younger Luffy was looking more and more steamed as he proved unable to steal, and the grins that his brother and his older self were shooting at him served to erase whatever reservations he had left in his mind about training until he could do that.

All in all, both crews were enjoying themselves to the greatest degree possible, and Whitebeard was making no attempt to hold himself back with Chopper's medicine working for his favor. At length, however, he did turn his eyes towards the captain. "Pirate King," he rumbled. "I want you to answer one question that I still have."

"Huh? Sure, what is it, Pops?" the older Luffy said around a piece of meat on a bone as big as he was.

"Would you begrudge me for continuing to follow the dream I have?"

The atmosphere stilled, and the older Luffy looked at the old man curiously. Said old man turned his gaze to the fire-man before him.

"My intention was to see Ace standing as the next Pirate King. The proof stands before me now that you would be the one to claim the throne instead...but would you begrudge me if I still wanted Ace to reach the top?"

"P-Pops?" Ace gaped. "I-I was trying to make _you_ the—"

"I've never been interested in the throne, Ace," Whitebeard said with a smile. "From the early days of my career, I've only wanted one thing."

He looked around at all of his commanders. "All I wanted was a family. And it's thanks to you, Pirate King, that they're still here before me. Which is why I ask...would you begrudge me for wanting to see one of my sons rise to be all that he could be?"

Even younger Luffy didn't speak as his older self remained silent, his expression shadowed. Then, after a few moments, he raised his head...revealing a large grin.

"Shishishi! Of course not, old man! Just as long as you won't mind me kicking Ace's ass to take it myself."

"HEY!" Ace snapped indignantly, slugging Luffy in the skull. The Pirate King crashed to the ground, and all facing him looked in surprise. Then Ace's surprise turned to smugness. "Please, Luffy, if you can't even dodge a punch from me as the Pirate King, what chance do you have of kicking my ass in a fight like that?"

The melancholy tone in Luffy's chuckle made the smile fall from Ace's face. The Pirate King stood to face him. "I could have dodged that if I wanted to. But I didn't. I sort of miss you hitting me like that."

Before Ace could feel any shame, however, the Pirate King threw a punch of his own, sending the fire-man flying against the railing of the ship, and sending the older Luffy into gales of laughter.

"But I _always wanted_ to do _that!_ SHISHISHISHISHI!"

"Why, you..." Ace growled, getting to his feet.

"See, Ace? I can beat you if I want to!" younger Luffy said cheerily. "We'll have a fight when we get to the end, and we'll see which one of us becomes the King."

Ace processed that for a few minutes before grinning, striding back over, and clasping hands with his brother. "It's a deal, Luffy."

"Gurararara," Whitebeard chuckled. "I'll be satisfied with that; the brother of my son is my son as well."

All who heard him smiled warmly. Then they shielded their eyes as, without warning, the ten pirates from the future began to shine.

"Hmph, looks like our time's up. Ace, take care of your brother; we won't be able to come back and save you if you screw up again," said the metal-nosed man. Ace nodded, determination clear in his eyes.

"I won't break my promise this time, Luffy," he swore to the Pirate King his brother grew up to become, who smiled in response. Then the older Luffy turned to Whitebeard.

"Old man. Live as long as you can. Take it from someone who knows: it's better not to leave your family behind before you have to."

Ace stiffened at the hurt in his tone, and reaffirmed it in his mind: from now on, no matter what happened, he'd never let someone goad him into a fight that he wasn't sure he would win if it meant risking breaking his promise to Luffy. Whitebeard, on the other hand, only nodded.

"I don't have a lot of time left anyway, Pirate King, but I'll use every second of it," he rumbled. Luffy grinned, and a thought came to his mind.

"One more thing before I go."

He breathed in so that his body swelled in a way that would be impossible for anyone who wasn't made of rubber, and then bellowed out four words that reached everyone in the fleet, and quite possibly back to Marineford.

"ONE PIECE IS REAL!"

And in the next moment, the light winked out, and they were gone.

 **So, Luffy doesn't kill Blackbeard personally. I considered it, of course, but getting old man Whitebeard to stand down when he was so much stronger than in canon? Not likely. Luffy probably already had his revenge in his own time, and he respects the wishes of another captain to avenge his own.**

 **So, what will the next leap be? Perhaps a leap home? *Pauses.* Sorry, I just had to make that joke at some point. Anyway, that marks the end of me taking off of Blueh's work; all writing from this point onwards is mine first and foremost.**

 **Much gratitude to my beta reader, lunanime. And yes, I know who's next. But am I going to tell you? Come now, where's the fun in that? Besides, as we all know, Patience is a virtue.**


	4. The Twin Capes

**You know, it's really rather** **remarkable how quickly I can write when I set my mind to it and have enough free time. The question is, just how good in quality is it? That's for you to tell me, of course. I sincerely hope that you enjoy this chapter.**

When the light faded this time, the sounds of the ocean's swell that they had heard on Whitebeard's ship grew the slightest bit quieter, but did not vanish. The ground beneath them was hard earth, and the land behind them sloped up abruptly. Before anyone could speak, a very loud foghorn-like noise made them cover their ears.

"AHH! What the hell…wait, I know that noise," Luffy said, spinning around. The proof of his statement was shown immediately: they found themselves on a landmass close to a cliff that sloped down sharply to the ocean. A few meters away from where they stood was an enormous black mass. Looking further up revealed an eye on its side and a massive mouth on its top; it was a whale.

"Laboon!" Brook cried joyfully, but then puzzlement came over his face… _though I don't have a face. Yohohoho! Skull joke!_

"Wait a minute, what are we doing here? Did any of you lose someone at the Twin Capes?"

"I don't think so," Nami said, pondering. "It's definitely not me, Zoro, Usopp, Chopper, Robin, or Franky…is it your crew?"

"It can't be, Laboon was about the size of a rowboat when we entered the Grand Line," Brook replied.

"And Big Bro Ti was attacked on Foolshout Island, nowhere near the Twin Capes," Jinbe said.

"It can't be me, I still haven't made up my mind," Sanji said.

"So the only one that leaves is—Merry! Of course!" Usopp said, grinning.

"Back at the start of the Grand Line was when she really started taking damage. Her head broke off when she hit Laboon, and Luffy tore off the mast. If we stop that from happening and make sure our past selves take better care of her, she should make it to Water 7 in good enough shape!"

"All right! And when that happens, I can _super_ repair the ship! No, I've got it: I'll upgrade her with Adam Wood, and turn her into the Thousand Merry!" Franky said, posing.

"The Thousand Merry, huh? I like the sound of that. Let's do it," Zoro said, smirking.

"Well, we'd better get started fast: here we come!" Sanji said, pointing to the current running down the mountain.

"Don't worry, I'll handle it," Robin said, crossing her arms. "Oh, and Sanji? So long as we're here, could you do me a favor?"

"I'd love to, sweet Robin!" Sanji cried, going into love mode.

* * *

The five members of the recently infamous Straw Hat Pirates had been in a state of joy as they descended Reverse Mountain into the Grand Line. This came to an abrupt end as the ocean spray cleared up as they neared the bottom of the mountain, and saw a massive black wall in their way that they quickly identified as a whale.

"W-w-what are we gonna do?!" Usopp asked, panicking.

"Should we fight?" Luffy asked.

"IDIOT, how are we supposed to fight a 100-ton whale?!" Nami snapped.

"D-d-do something! Our path is blocked, how do we escape?!" Usopp continued.

"Calm down!" Sanji said, suppressing his own anxiety. "If this creature looks like a giant wall to us, we must be a speck."

"That's right! It's highly possible that this thing isn't even aware that we're here," Nami realized.

"We'll still run right into it if we don't change course!" Zoro pointed out, and then pointed to the left.

"Look, we can get by on the left! Port! Hard to port!"

"THE RUDDER'S BROKEN!" Usopp shrieked.

"Do something! Anything!" Zoro shouted, running along with Sanji towards the helm room. But a sudden lurch forward of the ship made him fall over, along with everyone else. Luffy barely clung to the figurehead with his rubber arms as his body flew several feet forward before snapping back and sending him flying into the mast. He got back on his feet quickly, and sprinted to the front of the ship.

"YOU GUYS HAVE _GOT_ TO SEE THIS!" Luffy shouted, his jaw dropped to the deck.

Nami was the first to look over the edge along with Luffy, and her own jaw hit the railing even as the ship slowed down.

"EVERYONE, HURRY AND GET UP HERE!" she yelled.

Sanji came fastest, and Zoro and Usopp slowly followed. A collective silence fell as the Straw Hats simply gaped at the sight of what had prevented them from crashing into the whale: the spontaneous appearance of two positively enormous arms from the front of the ship that were pushing against the water to slow them down.

"…Since when can ships grow arms like this?" Sanji asked weakly. When the boat came to a stop, one of the arms raised its hand and pointed to their left. They turned, and saw a group of figures in black on one of the capes.

"We'd like to have a word with you," came a cool female voice in the direction of the arms. The Straw Hats turned just in time to see the arms suddenly vanish in a flurry of flower petals, and exchanged looks. Luffy was the first one to recover.

"All right, everyone! Row towards those guys, and let's find out what they want!"

"And how the heck they could do that arm trick, and somehow speak to us," Usopp responded weakly.

Slowly, the crew gathered the oars and began rowing towards the cape; the whale would have been all but forgotten were it not for its bellowing. When they finally reached land, another surprise awaited them as a massive net of normal-sized arms formed from the top of the cliff, extending down to their ship. Luffy wasted no time in climbing up the net, and the rest of the crew followed at varying paces, not entirely comfortable with the situation. Reaching the top, they found nine cloaked figures of varying shapes and sizes, all of their faces covered by black hoods.

"Before you ask, what just happened was due to my Flower-Flower Fruit powers. My body parts bloom like flowers wherever I'd like them to," said one of the figures in the same voice they'd heard back on the ship.

"I…guess that makes sense, but how did you make them giant?" Nami asked.

"One thousand smaller arms to make two bigger ones," she replied.

Nami shrugged, and Zoro stepped forwards.

"Thanks for explaining, and saving us, but why exactly did you do that? Do you help every crew that comes down the mountain from running into that whale?"

"No, we had a special interest in protecting your ship," she replied. A pair of screaming voices coming closer from nearby delayed any more questions. The Straw Hats turned, and their jaws collectively hit the ground once again as they saw another of the cloaked figures _flying_ towards them, with an oddly-dressed orange haired man in one arm and a blue-haired young woman in the other. They continued screaming until they were set down a short distance away. The figure that had carried them walked back over.

"Done as you requested, sweet Robin, and Crocus should be out shortly," the figure said in a familiar voice.

"Thank you, Sanji," Robin said, walking over to the figures. The last word she spoke made all of the Straw Hats look with astonishment at the figure.

"SANJI?!" Luffy asked incredulously. The figure chuckled before removing his hood. He had a small goatee and his hair covered his right eye instead of his left, but there was no mistaking him.

"Hello, captain," he said casually.

"What the hell?" Sanji asked, looking at himself…if a bit older.

"Just a minute, we'll explain everything. But first…" the older Sanji said, gesturing to the other figures. Four of them also removed their hoods, and once again, the Straw Hats' jaws hit the ground.

 _If this keeps up, my jaw might become as flexible as Luffy's,_ Nami thought absently, staring at what was clearly her older self. She also absently thought that she might have to try growing her hair out like that; it looked good on her.

"What the hell is going on here?" Zoro asked, taking in the sight of a green-haired man with one eye and a smirk that gave the impression that he wasn't someone to mess with.

"Wow, was I really that scrawny before?" asked the older Usopp, who had a look of confidence about him and seemed to be much more muscular.

"WHOA! Are you…me?" Luffy asked, staring at the man in front of him. There…was hardly any difference at all, except that the Straw Hat was missing.

"Straw Hat Pirates, meet the Straw Hat Pirates," older Sanji said, smirking.

Several seconds passed before anyone could speak.

"Wait a minute. If you're me, where's your hat?" Luffy asked. His older self chuckled.

"With Shanks, of course. I gave it back to him when I kept the promise that I made him."

All of the Straw Hats looked at him incredulously, but none more than Luffy.

"We're you guys from about three or four years in the future, when we've already fulfilled all of our ambitions, and the Straw Hat Pirates have become the crew of the Pirate King," older Usopp said.

"AWESOME!" Luffy said, literally glowing with excitement. Many of the watchers sweatdropped.

"I never understood how Luffy could do that," said a tall, thin figure that had not removed his hood.

"…OK, so…you're us from the future. Then who are the rest of these guys?" Nami asked weakly.

"Our crew, of course," older Nami spoke up. "You don't think it was just the five of us all the way to the end of the Grand Line?"

"But we're well aware of our captain's stance on knowing too much about the adventures that he's going on," older Zoro said, looking at younger Luffy with a smirk. The younger crew all looked at him, and he nodded.

"Yeah. I don't want to go on any boring adventures; I'd sooner quit being a pirate altogether. But still…why are you guys here?" he asked curiously.

"An old man we met used his Devil Fruit powers to send us back in time to save something that we lost on our first adventure. Each of us got to choose one time period where we lost someone, but there was one that we all agreed that we wanted to save," older Zoro said, walking over to the cliff's edge. The past and future crews followed after him, and followed his gaze down to…their ship.

"…You came back here to save the Merry?" Nami asked in confusion.

"Merry was our friend," older Usopp said softly.

"On our journey across the Grand Line, she got so damaged, and we didn't have a shipwright to make all of the repairs that we needed. All we had were my mediocre skills, and I did everything that I could to take care of her. It was when we reached Sk—um…" he trailed off, counting on his fingers.

"The sixth island on our journey that she started to take on a life of her own. She had been damaged again, but she had enjoyed spending time with us so much that she took on a form of her own and repaired the ship. I remember seeing her, like a ghost carrying a hammer, and saying, 'it's OK. I'll carry you all a little further.' When we reached the eighth island on our journey, Water 7, home of the best shipwrights in the world, we decided that we needed a professional to take care of the ship.

"But it was too late: the keel had been cracked, and not even they could fix it. It was hard for all of us, especially me, but we had to get a new ship. But that wasn't the end of it; something happened on that island that forced us to infiltrate a Government base. In the end, we were surrounded by Marine ships, about to be blown away…but Merry came to save us, sailing all the way to where we were on her own and helping us get away. We were just starting to enjoy the trip back when…she broke in half."

Usopp's voice trembled as he continued.

"A ship with a bunch of the shipwrights from Water 7 was there to pick us up, but there was nothing we could do anymore for Merry. We gave her…a Viking funeral. I still remember it like it was yesterday: we watched as she burned, seeing her off as snow fell from they sky. And then…she spoke to us. 'I'm sorry,' she said. 'I wanted to carry you all a little further. I had so much fun. I wished our adventures would never end.' She just apologized, like it was her fault. Luffy knew that it was ours, and said as much; we wrecked her, and I sucked at repairing her. It was our fault…but she said that she didn't mind. She was happy. Her last words were, 'I know you always treated me with love. Thank you…'"

And that was as far as the sniper got before he collapsed on his knees, crying. The future Zoro and Sanji had their faces shadowed, Nami was on her knees as well, Luffy was ducking his head in a vain attempt to hide his own crying, and half of the figures behind them were bawling as well. The past crew looked with astonishment and sadness; the story was ridiculous, but not any more than the fact that they were looking at their future selves, who were part of the Pirate King's crew. They actually felt tears running down their own faces as they heard the story. Past Zoro was the first one to speak up.

"So, what can we do to keep that from happening, besides making sure Usopp gets some better skills until we get our shipwright?"

"Let's see…besides that and just making sure you treat her well, the only threat I can think of is after the…fourth island you visit, when you have to deal with a Marine fleet that fires iron spears instead of cannonballs. Oh, and try to have a protection against fire onboard," future Sanji said.

"And when you reach Water 7, look for a man named Franky; anyone in town should know who he is. Tell him that you'll provide the money for him to buy Adam Wood if he promises to use it to upgrade your ship. Nami?" future Zoro asked, looking at the past navigator.

"The Adam Wood will cost 200 million berries."

Nami stiffened, but in light of the story she just heard, she kept her anger in check.

"What's so special about this Adam Wood?" she asked.

"It's the most sturdy wood in the world," future Usopp said, getting himself together.

"Even cannonballs just bounce off of it. To put it in perspective, Adam Wood was used to make the Oro Jackson, Gold Roger's ship, the only ship that ever made it through the entire Grand Line—uh, besides our Thousand Sunny, that is. And Franky was an apprentice to the man who built the Oro Jackson; you could not ask for a better man for the job."

Nami let out a small sigh, but there was determination in her eyes as she nodded.

"So…is one of those guys Franky, then?" past Luffy asked, pointing to the other figures. The biggest and most oddly shaped of them stepped forward and removed his hood, showing a man with a metal nose and a buzzcut.

"That's me. But I'll look a lot less super when you find me at Water 7. Also, if you have trouble persuading me, tell me that there's someone who forgave me a long time ago that would be proud to see me build the ship of my dreams with gusto. That last part is important: make sure you say 'with gusto.'"

Usopp wrote down the odd instructions before walking up to him.

"So, how long are you guys going to be here?"

"Not long, about 45 more minutes, but that should be long enough for me to give you a crash course in keeping your ship in shape."

As their conversation continued, Nami spoke up.

"So, why did you come to this particular time? Did we crash into that whale the first time?"

"Yeah. Our idiot captain fired the front cannon at the whale to slow us down. It worked, but the figurehead broke off. And that's Luffy's special seat, so he decided to punch Laboon in the eye."

"HE WHAT?!"

All of the past crew looked dangerously at their captain, who raised his hands.

"Hey, I didn't do anything!"

"Then he swallowed the ship," Sanji continued.

BONK!

Luffy extracted his head from the ground with some difficulty.

"And then when we got out thanks to the old man who watches over the twin capes and Laboon, Luffy tore off the mast and rammed it into Laboon's head."

BONK!

Luffy extracted his head from the ground with more difficulty.

"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU DO THAT? WHY THE HELL WOULD HE DO THAT?" Nami demanded, looking back at future Sanji.

"Because he heard Laboon's story. And I think that it would be better if you heard that story from him," future Sanji said, replacing his hood as the other future Straw Hats did the same, as an old man with a flower petals around his head approached them from nearby, having climbed up the cliff while they were talking.

* * *

While the past and future pirates had been talking, Robin had other things on her agenda. Namely, doing what she could to make things easier for herself and her crew in the near future. To that end, she'd asked Sanji to fetch the two Baroque Works agents that she knew were in Laboon, and Brook had suggested he ask Crocus to come out as well. Now she stood face-to-face with the two Baroque Works agents, who had stopped their indignant demands as soon as she removed her hood.

"M-Miss All Sunday?! What are you doing here?" Mr. 9 demanded, Miss Wednesday beside him only staring in shock and apprehension.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Mr. 9. I'm here to talk to Miss Wednesday, so if you'll wait over there," Robin said, pointing to the far side of the land where the mountain sloped up.

Mr. 9 slowly complied, not daring to disobey her. As soon as he was out of earshot, Robin sighed.

"Princess Vivi of the Alabasta Kingdom. I don't know how much of what I'm going to say you'll believe, but I'm only here to talk, not to fight."

Vivi grimaced as she looked at her, but said nothing.

"I am not the Miss All Sunday that you know. The figures you see there are members of the pirate crew that I joined, indirectly as a result of the events in Alabasta. With the help of a man with a time-based Devil Fruit, my crew returned to this time to give some assistance to their past selves. I'm taking the chance I have now to do what I can to make up for my past mistakes."

Robin bowed her head to Vivi.

"I am sorry for what I have done to you and your country."

It was a minute before Vivi spoke.

"What are you going to do to prove it?"

Robin looked up.

"My crew and I cannot stay in this time for long. What I can do is give you advice to help you. Ally with my crew; they will help you return safely home to Alabasta, and defeat Baroque Works. And the next time you see my past self, tell her this: 'Nico Robin, I have a message from your future self. Turn against Crocodile and ally with this crew. They are the ones that Saul spoke of, and will help you find the Rio Poneglyph.'"

Vivi could only stare with a distinct lack of comprehension, but shrugged.

"I guess we'll see if you're being honest. Why did you ally with Crocodile in the first place?"

"Protection. The World Government sees me as a threat because I'm the only one left in the world who can read the Poneglyphs. It's not even the threat of reviving the Ancient Weapons that they're most afraid of; 900 years ago, a century began of which no history is known, but it ended with the birth of the World Government. There is nothing that they're more afraid of than that history becoming known. For the 20 years before I found that crew, I was forced to remain on the run, relying on various groups for protection and using them as shields when they outlived their usefulness. Crocodile was just the most recent of them."

"…And what's different about this crew?"

"They're pirates only in name. Don't tell them this unless you must, the captain doesn't want to know about future events, but for the sake of just one of their friends, they declared war on three Warlords, three Emperors, and the entire World Government, and won. They're far from the level of power that they will be at, but the captain is strong enough to defeat Crocodile as he is now."

Vivi reflected upon all of this quietly. It was a few minutes before she raised her head.

"Thank you for telling me all of this, Nico Robin."

Robin nodded, a small smile on her face as she turned away.

"Oh, and one more thing: I promise you that Igaram will survive until the end of the war."

Vivi was puzzled at that last note, but shrugged it off as Robin beckoned Mr. 9 back over, slipping back into the guise of Miss Wednesday for now, but looking at the retreating figure that was replacing her hood with hope burning more brightly than she had thought possible before.

* * *

"…So, he's been waiting for 50 years for his crew to come back to him, but they just ditched him and ran away? That's horrible!" Usopp said disgustedly, as Crocus finished his tale.

"It would be horrible, if it was true," said the cloaked Luffy, drawing everyone's attention.

"Just a second," he said, walking over to the cliff and removing his hood again for a moment.

"LABOON!" he yelled. The whale looked over at him, and the past crew along with Crocus looked in astonishment as the massive whale seemed to cower a bit. Luffy beckoned, and sweating, the whale approached the shore. Luffy replaced his hood and patted the whale's front before walking back over to the group.

"Conqueror's Haki? Impressive," Crocus said.

"Conqueror's what now? What the hell did he just do?" Sanji asked.

"Later," future Luffy said. "Like I was saying, that's not what happened to Laboon's crew. I guess that rumor got started when half of the crew was infected with an incurable disease, and had to be shipped off to prevent what was left of them from being infected. Then the rest of them met a group of pirates with insane strength, and every last one of them was killed."

The past crew and Crocus all looked at him with confusion; his tone was strangely upbeat for saying such a morbid revelation.

"You're saying that awfully lightly, young one. And how would you know that to be true anyway?" Crocus asked.

"That's quite simple, really," said the tall, thin figure, stepping forward.

"You see, all of them died in that attack…but one of them, as it happens, ate the Revive-Revive Fruit."

The figure slowly removed his hood…and the past crew freaked out as they saw a skeleton with an afro beneath. Crocus stared in shock.

"…Brook?" he asked.

"Yes, Crocus, it's me. It's just unfortunate that we died in an area with so much fog; it took a year for me to find my way back to my body, and you see the result. It's quite a good thing that the fruit's power is so thorough that it can sustain me even in this form."

The past Straw Hats slowly recovered, and watched as Brook produced a violin seemingly from nowhere and walked over to Laboon, who looked at him with no fear, but confusion.

"Laboon. I'm sorry that I took so long. It's me, Brook!"

With that, he began playing his favorite tune on the violin, moving with a dance that made Laboon's memories stir. Despite the lack of skin, there was no mistaking it. Tears surged down his face as he attempted to nuzzle the skeleton, cutting off his song. It was an awkward embrace, but they managed to make it work. The past Straw Hats' fears slowly faded as they saw the sight.

"That's so wonderful," Usopp said, rubbing his eyes.

"Looks like we've spoiled the future a little more, so sorry about that, Luffy," future Nami said.

"Heh, no problem. It's worth it, for something like this," past Luffy said, grinning.

"And he's a musician? Oh, now I really want to know…all right, how long do I have to wait before _we_ meet Brook?" Luffy asked.

"Figures that the musician would make him break that rule," future Usopp chuckled. "The ninth island in the Grand Line. You'll know you're getting close when you find a barrel in the ocean that's supposed to be an offering, but shoots off a firework when you open it."

"Just be careful: I won't say much, but you'll have a hell of a fight on your hands on that island," future Luffy said.

"Got it. Now, no more questions about the future, everyone!"

"Oh, come on, Luffy, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Can't we at least have one question for our future selves?" Usopp asked.

Luffy pouted, but then he seemed to realize something.

"All right. One question each, that's it."

The past and future crew faced each other. Zoro spoke first.

"What happened to your eye?"

Future Zoro chuckled.

"Figured you'd ask about that. Let's just say it was lot more work than we thought training to become the greatest swordsman in the world. I found another teacher during our journey when we all had to train to take on the second half of the Grand Line. I just wish I could see your face when you find out who he is. He lives at a place called Kuraigana island, if you want to look it up."

Younger Zoro suppressed his curiosity, and nodded.

"Did you ever find the Clear-Clear Fruit?" Sanji asked. His future self stiffened.

"No, but I found the bastard who did eat it around the time we met Brook, and the way he used it made me glad I didn't find it. You're fine as you are now."

Sanji blinked slowly, and then nodded.

"How did you manage to keep up with the rest of the monsters in the crew?" Nami asked. Her older self produced a bizarre-looking baton from her cloak, and showed it to her, squeezing one end of it and causing it to grow into a staff.

"This is the Clima-Tact. Usopp came up with the idea first: using the weather as a weapon. The first version was just a glorified party toy, but it was able to generate mirages and miniature thunderclouds, complete with lightning strikes. The way it is now, it could annihilate a whole island if I wanted it to. And I'm REALLY looking forward to using it on Arlong when we go back to save Bell-mère."

Past Nami's smile was positively feral as her future self said that.

"Wish I could be there to see that."

Past Usopp had a thoughtful look on his face as he considered the idea of the Clima-Tact, the blueprints already forming in his mind. He shook himself out of it, however, when he considered what to ask his future self.

"Hmm…"

"I don't recommend asking what Nami did; my preferred style now isn't something you'll be able to access for a while," future Usopp said.

Past Usopp shrugged, and thought it over.

"Oh, I've got it! What was my first bounty?"

"The same as Luffy's, 30 million. But you can make it higher if you start training more seriously now," future Usopp said smugly.

Zoro and Sanji looked as though they wanted to ask about their own bounties, but the question Luffy asked next drove those thoughts miles away from their minds.

"Did you save Sabo?"

The past crew looked at Luffy.

"Who's Sabo?"

"He was my older brother, but some stupid nobles killed him when I was a kid," Luffy spat.

"The World Nobles, easily the most evil people in the entire World Government," future Usopp said, disgust clear in his voice.

"But the answer's no, Luffy. I didn't save Sabo, because he didn't need saving. He survived," future Luffy said.

Young Luffy's eyes widened.

"What?"

"Members of the Revolutionary Army—"

"I'M saying it this time, Robin!" Luffy snapped. Robin and several others chuckled as future Luffy turned back with a huff.

"The head of the Revolutionary Army, Dragon, was visiting the island at the time, and he adopted him. He's the second-in-command of the whole army now…or will be in two years, I can't remember when he got the title. But he lost his memories from that explosion, which is why he hasn't shown himself to you yet."

"The Revolutionary Army? Would it even be safe to try to get back into contact with him, then?" past Sanji asked. For some reason, that set almost the entirety of the future crew into gales of laughter.

"Oh, trust me, you guys have _nothing_ to fear from Dragon or anyone loyal to him," future Luffy said.

Past Luffy's one-track mind ignored the part about the Revolutionary Army, only thinking on how Sabo was alive. One more thought invaded his mind, however.

"Wait a minute. If Sabo's alive, then who did you decide to save?"

The future crew's laughter died immediately, and they stiffened in unison, exchanging looks. An uncomfortable silence fell before future Luffy finally sighed.

"Ace. A pirate named Blackbeard defeated him and turned him over to the World Government to become a Warlord. He was executed."

Luffy felt his blood run cold at the thought, but that lasted for less than a second.

"What can I do to keep that from happening this time?" Luffy demanded. Future Luffy thought for a minute, and then looked behind him.

"How much time have we got left?"

"About half an hour, I think," Robin said.

Future Luffy removed his hood, and the grin he gave was just a little too feral for the past crew's comfort.

"All right, everyone! Time for a crash course in Haki and Six Powers training!"

* * *

It was a very sore, bruised, and exhausted crew that faced their future selves as light began to envelop them. All of them stood on the deck of the Going Merry, Mr. 9 and Vivi next to them. Usopp had next to him a thick packet of notes on shipwright skills that would be expected to last him until they met Franky. All five of the past crew, however, listened closely to the future captain as he shone.

"Today, you've seen proof with your own eyes that you can reach your dreams. We won't be coming back to this time again, so make sure that you can see us again yourselves one day, when you look in the mirror," future Zoro said.

"Luffy, make sure to keep up the training, and remember what I said: if you're good enough when you get to Jaya, you can stop Blackbeard before he starts. But otherwise, train ten times harder from then on. And everyone, this is an order from your captain: never give up on your dreams, no matter what comes at you!" future Luffy commanded.

"Right!" the five past Straw Hats said. The light intensified around the cloaked group for a second, and then winked out, taking them with it.

 **…** **Would any of you think less of me if I admitted that I cried when I wrote out Usopp's story of Merry? Truly, that is one of the saddest moments in the entire series, and I'm immensely glad that it can be fixed here…though the idea seems to have strayed somewhat from saving just her. Then again, if you had an hour to talk to your past selves, what would you do? I'd probably change as much as I could for the better.**

 **Now, allow me to clarify one thing: there is, in fact, a pattern to the order in which the time jumps are happening. Once again, however, I have no intention of spoiling what that pattern is. But, going off of the pattern I've thought of, there's no clear way to choose which person comes next. It's either Nami or Franky. So, once more, I leave it up to you. Two days from now, whichever one has more votes will be the next one. But, if one of you manages to identify the pattern, I'll let that person choose which one comes next.**

 **So, once again, kudos to my beta, lunanime. And until a result is chosen, always remember: Patience is a virtue.**


	5. Drum Island

In stark contrast to the moderate temperature that they just left, the light faded this time leaving the Straw Hats in a forest covered in snow. It came as a welcome surprise to the Straw Hats that their black outfits insulated them nicely from the cold. All except one, but his attention was oceans away from considering that.

"Yes, it's my turn! I'd know this forest anywhere. This is…wait a minute. This is the forest on the peak of the Drum Rockies, where the castle is! But what are we doing here?" Chopper asked, his joy fading into confusion.

"What do you mean, Chopper?" Luffy asked.

"The day Doctor died, he drank a soup I made out of Amiudake mushroom. It was poisonous; I thought that the skull and crossbones next to it in the book was a jolly roger. I was so stupid…but the point is that if we were going to stop me from doing that, we should be back at Doctor's house, which is at the foot of the mountains."

"Well, you can cure Amiudake now, right?" Usopp asked.

"Yeah. Ever since I found the cure, I've never let it out of my backpack; I'd never forgive myself if someone else died from that mushroom and I couldn't help them. And I wouldn't really have any trouble stabilizing Doctor's other condition, either…but he was facing down Wapol when he died."

Chopper's eyes lit up.

"That must be it. We're here to save Doctor along with everyone else in the kingdom by overthrowing Wapol!"

"Oh, this is going to be fun to watch," Zoro said, smirking dangerously.

"What do you mean 'watch', Mosshead? Do you not plan on fighting?" Sanji asked.

"It'd be nice, sure, but I think Chopper can handle all of them himself."

Chopper blinked, but then grinned, along with everyone else, as they realized what Zoro was implying. The reindeer removed his backpack, however, and dug in it for a moment before handing Sanji a vial and what looked like one of his Rumble Balls.

"Make sure Doctor drinks the vial first. That pill is designed to get rid of his illness, not the Amiudake; it could probably handle both, but I'm not taking any chances."

"Got it, doctor," Sanji said with a completely serious expression.

"And Luffy, go down the mountain and bring Doctorine up here. Otherwise, I don't think I'll get a chance to see her before we leave."

"Got it, Chopper," Luffy said before vanishing.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Chopper? Sending Luffy to get her?" Zoro asked.

"For once, I agree with Mosshead. Luffy's not exactly careful with things like that."

"…You may be right. Is it silly of me to have thought that Luffy would still be scared of Doctorine, so he'd be careful with her?"

Sanji thought back to the time that he first met Chopper's mentor, and paled as he remembered her chasing him through the castle while throwing weapons at him.

"I see your point, Chopper. But I'm not sure Luffy would have enough good sense not to just grab her and rocket up to the top of the mountain."

Chopper shrugged, and then sniffed the air before his eyes narrowed.

"It's too late to do anything about it now. All right, this one's mine. The rest of you, make sure Doctor doesn't get hurt."

Everyone nodded, and put on their hoods as they followed Chopper towards the edge of the forest.

* * *

Before the castle of Drum Kingdom sat its tyrannical king Wapol on the back of his steed, a large woolly hippo. Flanking him was a small army of royal soldiers with rifles raised, a group of twenty men in pink smocks, and a man with a green woolly outfit who was bound to serve the king. All of these faced a man with a cross-shaped hairdo, with dark circles beneath his eyes from the poison coursing through his body, who had just been informed that the twenty doctors he had come to save were alive and well, and it was merely a trap to kill him.

"So that was it," Hiluluk said, falling to his knees. "Thank God…and none of them are sick."

Dalton, the sole member of the king's guards who had his morals straight, stiffened as he saw the doctor begin to cry tears of joy.

"I was afraid…that this was a national crisis. But no. Luckily it was just a trick!" Hiluluk said. Members of the 20 MDs, the twenty doctors that served Wapol out of necessity, began to have the same reaction as Dalton.

"Ha! If it really was a national crisis, I wouldn't want someone like you!" Wapol gloated, before commanding his soldiers, "Ignore his babbling! Execute him!"

"Save your bullets," Hiluluk said, raising a hand. "You don't have what it takes to kill someone like me."

Wapol's face contorted in confusion, and the soldiers refrained from firing as Hiluluk continued, none of them aware of the beast approaching the mountain.

"Hey. When do you think a person dies? When a bullet from a pistol pierces his heart? No. When he's attacked by an incurable disease? No. When he eats a soup of deadly poisonous mushrooms? No! A man…dies when people forget him."

Dalton gritted his teeth as the doctor poured a cup of one of his chemicals.

"Even if I should disappear right now, my dream will come true. And when it does, the citizens' sickness of the heart will be cured as well. You're crying…why, Dalton?"

The royal guard had tears streaming down his cheeks as he choked out,

"Is that…true for a country?"

"Yeah, if the will to do it is passed on," Hiluluk responded.

"Come on, Dalton, why are you crying?" Wapol cackled, oblivious to the thought that one of his most loyal soldiers was gaining the resolve to stand up to him.

"Very shortly, a monster will be coming. He's my son. Please, don't hurt him," Hiluluk said. He felt blood trickle out of his mouth, and his vision slowly began fading as he looked down into his cup, preparing to shout his last words to all who could hear and ensure that he did not die at his son's hand. Just as he opened his mouth to shout, the ground beneath him began to quake, causing some of the formula to spill on the snow. The quakes grew stronger and stronger at a fast pace, and in spite of himself, Hiluluk put aside his thoughts of drinking the chemicals, and looked around. His jaw hit the ground as he saw a tremendous shadow coming from the forest nearby.

"Wh-what the heck is that thing?!" one of the guards demanded. Wapol was looking in shock as well.

"IT'S A MONSTER! SHOOT IT, SHOOT IT!" Wapol demanded. The soldiers did not need telling twice, and they began firing their rifles, giving no more consideration to the rogue doctor.

Only Dalton spared enough attention to Hiluluk to notice as a figure in a black cloak appeared next to him, knocking the cup from his hand before forcing a vial into it.

"If you have any care for your son, then drink that, now. It's the cure for Amiudake," the figure hissed. Hiluluk blinked in shock, but with the development of the current situation, it seemed he had no choice if he was to make sure he didn't die from the mushroom. He downed the contents of the vial, and looked at the figure with curiosity, only to have his response cut off as he held out a yellow pill.

"Our doctor spent years working on this. Eat this, and swallow every bit of it; it will cure your disease."

Hiluluk looked at the pill, his mouth still open some, and marveled as his vision slowly began to clear. He wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth before taking the pill and biting it. It broke into bitter pieces, and he struggled to swallow it all, but managed it in the end. The figure got up from beside him, and turned away.

"Doctor Hiluluk, your own actions have brought you this cure. Pay attention to what's going on, and you'll see your life's work realized," he said quietly.

His attention gained, Hiluluk turned his rapidly returning sight to the castle's front, where he saw a sight to make his jaw drop to the snow once more.

* * *

Dalton had little time to reflect on the figure that was talking to Hiluluk before he refocused on the monster that was coming closer. It was a massive figure, ten times his height, with what looked like black cloth covering his entire form aside from his head, which seemed to be that of a demonic reindeer: a long muzzle with a blue nose, massive antlers, and a pair of glowing red eyes. On top of his head sat a pink hat beneath a blue cap, but that did nothing to make the monster less terrifying, especially when it became clear that the guns had been emptied and the monster showed no indication of being wounded. Dalton thought of the words that Hiluluk had just spoken, and his eyes widened as he somehow found the strength to speak.

"…Are you…Hiluluk's son?"

The monster looked at him, and its eyes faded to reveal black irises. The look on his face was almost gentle as it replied.

"Yes. I'm here to save my father," it rumbled in a low voice. Then it turned its attention to Wapol, and its eyes lit up with hatred again, unbothered by the fact that the tyrant was sweating bullets.

"WAPOL!" the monster screamed, reaching forward and grabbing the king between two of his fingers.

"L-l-let me go, you freak! Don't you know who I am?" Wapol babbled.

"I know who you are," the monster growled. "You're a poor excuse for a king that has no place ruling this kingdom. You're the one responsible for turning this country into a complete mess. You're the disease that not even I have a cure for…except this one. GOODBYE, WAPOL!"

The monster pulled back the hand that held Wapol, leaning his entire body back before stomping into the snow, putting all of his body into a powerful throw that sent the screaming, babbling Wapol into the distant sky, and out of sight with a twinkle.

As the 20 MDs and the soldiers looked in shock and panic, the monster seemed to calm down. Then he looked to Dalton.

"Dalton, it's time that you decided. Where do your loyalties lie?"

The man forced down his shock at the situation as he thought of Wapol's father and Hiluluk, men that had their hearts in the right place for this kingdom. He looked up at the monster with a determined expression, and then turned to the remaining royal soldiers before taking on his half-bison form and taking out his spade.

"I've seen the path this country should take. With Wapol gone, it can finally receive the care that it needs. If any of you remain loyal to that fool, then step up now, and I'll be your opponent."

The royal soldiers looked between the half-bison that they knew was far above them in strength, and the monster that was leering down at them that had defeated Wapol as easily as throwing a baseball. As one, they dropped their empty rifles. But two other men exited the castle at that moment, one with a jester's outfit and a sad face, and the other with a black afro and a scowl.

"Wapol is the rightful king, and we will bring him back to this country after we dispose of this monster and you, Dalton! You're guilty of treason!" Chess said, nocking an arrow and pointing it at him, while Kuromarimo's afro-gloves grew spikes. Neither had any chance to move, however, as two humanoid figures in black appeared before them out of nowhere. One held a black slingshot, which he aimed at Chess before firing.

"Special Attack, Green Star: Impact Wolf!" he shouted, the pellet he fired slowly growing larger and larger before taking the form of a massive plant-wolf, which struck Chess head-on and sent him flying to embed in the castle's stone wall. Kuromarimo had no chance to counterattack before a powerful kick from the other figure, appearing before him faster than he could blink, did the same to him. The soldiers, doctors, and Dalton all touched the ground with their jaws.

"…Who are you people?!" Dalton demanded.

"Whether or not we tell you that is for him to decide," said the slingshot-wielding man, gesturing to the monster.

"It was his choice to come here and save Hiluluk."

At that point, the doctor staggered forward, looking at the monster with a look of shock.

"Ch…Chopper?" he managed. The monster turned to look at him, and tears filled his eyes. The next moment, he slowly began to shrink, his black outfit changing size with him. In only a matter of seconds, the monster had shrunken to the size of a human child, the monstrous reindeer's face changed to a face reminiscent of a raccoon-dog. This small figure stumbled forward, crying more heavily than Dalton himself had been only a few minutes before as he fell into Hiluluk's embrace.

"D-Doctor…I'm so happy you're all right…" he choked out through his sobs, his voice now high-pitched like a child's.

Dalton observed the scene with no small amount of curiosity before something else caught his eye. Coming up from the rope that led down to the bottom was another small, teary-eyed, raccoon-dog-like creature, seemingly much younger, obviously much more bandaged, and in absence of a blue cap on top of his pink one. Still, Dalton could easily guess that it was the same creature, and he looked between the two before turning back in the direction of the two figures he had seen earlier…only to see nine instead of two, all of varying sizes, and all with their bodies and faces hidden beneath black robes.

"…COULD SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" Dalton shouted, his exasperation at not understanding the situation finally getting the better of him.

The creature hugging the doctor slowly pushed himself away, and the other one approached him, curiosity creeping over his face in place of the tears. As Hiluluk noticed this, he glanced between the two as well, and put a hand to his head.

"Am I still sick? I'm seeing two Choppers here. How are there two Choppers here?"

"I…I'm from the future, Doctor," said the one with the blue cap. Dalton, Hiluluk, and the younger Chopper looked at him attentively. He swallowed, but continued.

"In my time…you died today, and I started studying under Doctorine, Doctor Kureha. She taught me everything she knew about medicine. After six years, a powerful pirate crew called the Blackbeard Pirates attacked the country. Wapol didn't even try to fight them; as soon as he found out how strong they were, he took all of his soldiers and ran away. Dalton, you took command of the country and started to rebuild it, and you did a good job, and Doctorine and I moved into the castle. The country was recovering around the time that the Straw Hat Pirates arrived here.

"The Straw Hats weren't your normal kind of pirates; they only came here because one of their crewmates was horribly sick. They begged to be let into the island, and you allowed it. The captain climbed the Drum Rockies with his bare hands to get his crewmate to the doctor…and that was about the time that Wapol found his way back and tried to reclaim his throne. But when he got to the top of the mountain, the captain defeated him and sent him flying far away from here, just like I did this time. The crew talked me into joining them as their doctor, and I set out to sea.

"It was eleven years from now that my captain, Monkey D. Luffy, became King of the Pirates, and I discovered the secret of the Panacea. I've become the greatest doctor in the world, a doctor that can cure any disease…and it's all thanks to you, Doctor. That's why I came back here; an old man that my crew met let each of us go back in time to save someone we lost before. If you took the medicine…then you're all better. You won't die, and you can live to see your dream come true," Chopper finished, smiling and crying at the same time.

Hiluluk, Dalton, and the young Chopper slowly digested the story. Then Hiluluk reached forward and grabbed both Choppers, pulling them close and hugging them tightly to his chest.

"I'm so proud of you, Chopper."

The younger of the two reindeer found it a little odd to be thanked for something that he hadn't done yet, but nonetheless found himself tearing up at hearing that praise from his father. Older Chopper, meanwhile, was crying his eyes out. The soldiers and MDs looked on curiously, Dalton stared with an unreadable expression as he took in the reality of what would have been were it not for these pirates from the future. The other eight members of the crew looked on without removing their hoods, allowing their crewmate an uninterrupted reunion with his father.

Or at least, that's what they planned on, up until the point where there was a crash nearby, sending up a small cloud of snow. Following this, they could hear a woman's voice spouting a stream of invective from the middle of the cloud. Chopper winced as he separated from his father again, and Hiluluk had a similar expression. Younger Chopper looked in apprehension while his future self turned towards the other figures.

"You were right, Sanji. I shouldn't have had Luffy get Doctorine," he groaned. Many of the cloaked figures shook their heads as they approached where the snow was clearing away to reveal an old woman with a youthful-looking body throttling another cloaked figure.

"YOU STUPID BRAT! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU PLAYING AT, SENDING US FLYING LIKE THAT! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED?" she screeched, looking positively murderous.

"Sorry, Doctorine. I asked him to bring you up here," Chopper said.

The woman turned around, opening her mouth to begin shouting at him as well, but her voice died in her throat as she saw that the speaker was significantly different from the reindeer that had left her several minutes before…who was currently standing a short distance behind him, next to a distinctly not dead Hiluluk. Her mouth remained open for several seconds more in a gape. Then she slowly closed her mouth, and looked at the reindeer close to her with a small frown.

"All right, so what exactly is going on here?"

* * *

Hiluluk, Kureha, young Chopper, Dalton, the 20 MDs, and many of the soldiers listened attentively as Chopper told them his story more thoroughly: Hiluluk's death, Dalton's rebellion, his apprenticeship under Kureha, the invasion of the country, its reformation under Dalton, the Straw Hat Pirates' arrival, the permanent end to Wapol's tyranny, the birth of the Sakura Kingdom, and his crew's success in reaching their dreams.

The tale enraptured all who heard it, and many of them took to memorizing the names and faces of those who would succeed Gold Roger in only a few years: Monkey D. Luffy, the grinning, black-haired young man with a scar under one eye who would be the King; Roronoa Zoro the green-haired, one-eyed young man who would succeed Dracule Mihawk; Nami, the orange-haired young woman who would succeed in navigating the most monstrous ocean in the world; Usopp, the black-haired, long-nosed young man who was worthy of the title 'king of snipers'; Sanji, the blonde-haired, swirly-eyebrowed chef who would prove the existence of the legendary All Blue; Nico Robin, the black-haired woman who would expose the dark history of the World Government; Franky, the robotic shipwright who would build a ship as formidable as the Oro Jackson; Brook, the skeletal musician whose abilities were worthy of the title 'Soul King'; Jinbe, the fishman who they knew today as a Warlord; and Tony Tony Chopper, the reindeer that ate the Human-Human Fruit that became the world's best doctor.

Young Chopper found himself awestruck from everything and everyone that they described, Kureha had a slight smirk as she considered the fact that she would raise with her own hands the one who would prove her wrong about there being no medicine that could cure all diseases, and Hiluluk was crying tears of joy.

"Chopper, you've grown up to be so strong. You've fulfilled all of my dreams and then some. I couldn't be prouder of you," he said fervently.

"I guess I should say that I'm proud of you too, Chopper. But how am I supposed to keep my job if you're here with the knowledge of the Panacea?" Kureha asked wryly. Chopper smiled sadly.

"You don't have to worry about that, Doctorine; the old man told us that we can only stay in each time period for an hour. We don't have much time left, and whatever we change here won't change anything in our time. But I want to ask you to teach me what you can tell me about medicine, and make the Sakura Kingdom into the thriving medical country that it should be."

Kureha stared at the small reindeer for a few minutes with an unreadable expression. Then she smirked.

"Well, how can I refuse my superior?" she asked wryly.

Chopper blushed and grinned, and began dancing.

"Sh-shut up! You were the one who taught me everything you knew about medicine, you shouldn't be complimenting me," he said, fooling nobody into thinking that he wasn't unusually happy about the compliment.

"Not very good at hiding his emotions, is he?" Kureha asked Hiluluk dryly.

"Wow, that's weird. That's exactly what I said the first time I met Chopper," Nami said.

"And what the rest of the crew said when he joined us," Zoro added.

Young Chopper was looking at his older self curiously.

"Does it really make you that happy?" he asked. The older reindeer stopped and looked at him, still smiling.

"Doctorine hardly ever gave me compliments," he explained, but then his smile turned a bit sad.

"But besides that, in my time, I grew up being called a monster by everyone except Doctorine; I always tried not to feel happy when humans complimented me."

"To no avail," Jinbe said, provoking chuckles all around.

"But you've got a chance now to earn a place where you belong before you meet Luffy and the others. It won't be easy, but at least give it a try," Chopper said, surprisingly serious.

Younger Chopper looked uncertain, and Dalton spoke up.

"Chopper, is it? I'll help make sure that everyone treats you the way that they should," he promised.

"And why shouldn't they? It's all thanks to Chopper that this country can finally rebuild itself," Hiluluk said proudly. Then he looked back at the older reindeer.

"Speaking of which…how did you turn into that giant?"

In short order, Chopper found himself explaining everything he could about Rumble Balls, including showing off all of his forms. Kureha and Hiluluk were obviously fascinated at his discovery, and Dalton, as a Zoan himself, was expressing just as much interest. Younger Chopper, on the other hand, was growing more acquainted with the Straw Hat Pirates. All of them seemed nice, even Zoro, who Chopper was at first as scared of as Brook. But the swordsman seemed surprisingly gentle to Chopper, and the end result was him eagerly awaiting being able to meet with this crew in the future.

As the time for the crew to depart drew nearer, many of the soldiers, at Chopper's request and Dalton's command, brought all of the castle's cannons out onto the mountaintop, while the 20 MDs retrieved the research from Doctor Hiluluk's laboratory, at the same time informing the country of the situation. Chess and Kuromarimo were bound and imprisoned, and the flag atop the castle was replaced with Hiluluk's jolly roger. It was more work than they anticipated duplicating the experiment's results, but the cannons found themselves loaded just as the ten pirates began to shine. The reindeer rushed to hug his father one last time.

"I'm so glad I made you proud…Father," Chopper said. Hiluluk teared up all over again, and held the future version of his son close.

"My son…thank you for everything. I promise you that you'll become a fine doctor again," the man whispered. Younger Chopper watched from a short distance, and his eyes hardened.

"I promise that, too, older me. I'll make you proud…or make me proud?" he asked, the seriousness fading before confusion. His older self chuckled.

"I'd rather not think about it, it's too confusing. But I know you'll do great, Chopper."

The younger reindeer beamed, and the older one stepped back to stand beside his crew just as the cannons fired. And as the light winked out, the pirates going with it, the Sakura Kingdom was born.

 **And, done. Took far too long, but I did have some writer's block in revising this chapter from my original idea that I presented to Blueh. Anyway, as I said before, I'll have the next chapter up by next Saturday at the latest. Rate and review if you please; I very much value each one and the criticisms therein. Also, Corazon still has a commanding lead for the petition on whom Sanji will intervene for, so it seems likely that he'll be the intervention in a couple of chapters. There's still time, of course, but…well, we'll see what happens. Anyway, until the next chapter, may it never be forgotten that Patience is a virtue.**


	6. Cocoyasi Village

**Kudos to Dragonsatan, Freerunner4427, Loveoflife, and an unnamed guest who noticed the pattern: from most recent to least recent. Dragonsatan noticed it first, however, and as I promised, his decision stands. The vast majority of you—or at least, the majority of you who reviewed—will be pleased to know that his choice was Nami.**

A peaceful, quiet, and significantly less cold forest greeted the Straw Hats when the light faded. They were in rather deep, unable to see what island they were on without using Haki. A quick check with that skill indicated the nearest civilization, and a minute later found them at the edge of a peaceful village. Nami perked up when she recognized the houses and people there.

"Cocoyasi! It's my turn, I can save Bell-mère!" Nami said euphorically.

"All right, so, when exactly are we?" Zoro asked.

"Well, this has to be the day that Arlong first arrived, but it looks like he's not here yet; otherwise, the village would be a lot more unsettled."

"So, shall we intercept him at the coast before he has the chance to do anything?" Jinbe asked.

Nami pondered over the idea, but then sighed and shook her head.

"No. We'll have to let things go the way they did before for a little while. Let's head to my house for now," she said, walking in a certain direction in the forest. The crew fell into step behind her; even Zoro managed to stay with them. Perhaps it was just remembering Nami's pleading expression when she turned to them out of desperation to help with Arlong. Money-grubbing witch though she was, she was still a crewmate; he never wanted to see that look on her face again.

Jinbe seemed to be exceptionally tense as they moved; while it was Nami's choice to come to this particular time, he couldn't help but feel guilt at what was about to come to pass. If he had heard so much as a whisper that Arlong was up to something like this, he would have avenged Nami himself and made sure Arlong regretted what he had done; brother or not, his actions were inexcusable…and Jinbe was directly responsible for it all. And he would never forgive himself if this intervention went awry.

A few minutes of walking later, the crew's Haki picked up terror coming from the village that they had left. Jinbe stopped walking, and after a moment, the crew looked back at him.

"…Nami. It's your choice what we do, but why are we not preventing Arlong and his followers from entering the island?" he asked; it could not have been clearer that it was taking every measure of control he had not to run back to the village.

The navigator sighed.

"I appreciate how you feel about this, Jinbe. But the day Arlong came to the island, Bell-mère and I got into a fight, and I said I wished I had been adopted by a rich mother. That was when Genzo first told me of how Bell-mère had adopted me and Nojiko; I barely reconciled with her before Arlong killed her, and I've never forgiven myself for having most of the last words she said to us being apologies for not being rich," she said quietly. She removed her hood to wipe her eyes, and then spoke with more determination.

"Before I save Bell-mère, I want my younger self to have it hammered home just how important she is to us, and we are to her. If she's getting this second chance, I'm not going to let her make the mistake I did ever again."

Jinbe relaxed visibly.

"I understand," he replied. Nami replaced her hood, and they walked for another minute or so before coming to the edge of the woods, where a small house and tangerine grove could be seen. A delicious smell wafted through the air: duck, stew, and tangerine sauce, a veritable banquet for a small family. Luffy forced himself not to drool, even as his stomach growled. The others on the crew looked at him as they heard the sound, and though their faces were hidden, Luffy could feel them leering.

"Hey, all of that training we gave ourselves made me hungry! It's not my fault," he whined.

"Can you at least try to keep it under control until this is over?" Sanji hissed.

"I'm trying! It's not like I don't know how important this is!" Luffy snapped, and the indignant tone he used seemed to mollify the crew, who turned back to the house. They waited for a minute more before Arlong and his crew approached the house, and opened the door. A rude greeting came a minute later as Bell-mère delivered a roundhouse kick to the fishman's jaw, and pinned him to the ground with a rifle in his mouth.

"My, my. You seem to have inherited your mother's temper, Nami," Robin observed. Nami couldn't help but beam, but that didn't last long as Arlong bit the rifle in half and attacked, smashing her mother's arm into a bloody mess. Nami bit her lip, but stayed where she was.

"All right, everyone. I'm going in; as soon as I attack, you guys move in and take out the rest of the fishmen, except Hachi. Arlong is mine."

With that, Nami produced her Clima-Tact and twirled it, vanishing from sight a moment later. Their Haki allowed them to keep track of her, but they focused more on the crew of their would-be enemies.

"These guys are even weaker than Hody's crew. I honestly don't think it's worth it to fight them," Zoro said.

"They're embarrassingly weak, sure, but after what they did to Nami, I'm looking forward to beating them again," Sanji said, already sizzling slightly.

"Even so, it looks like the group is as small as they are weak; any one of us could take them down singlehandedly…in a manner of speaking," Robin said.

"…Did you just make a joke?" Usopp asked, the rest of the crew looking at her with similar incredulity.

"You all have rubbed off on me over the years," Robin replied, shrugging.

"…Anyway. Robin, you bind Hachi to make sure he doesn't interfere. Luffy, the cook, and I will take out the rest of the crew," Zoro said.

Everyone agreed, and with that, they turned their attention back to the house, where Nami's father figure, Genzo, was presenting her tribute money to Arlong, who began to walk away with his crew before Bell-mère spoke.

* * *

"Thank goodness. With those 100,000 berries…I'll be able to save my two children. That money is for my daughters. I don't have enough to pay for myself," Bell-mère said.

"BELL-MÈRE!" Genzo shouted as the fishmen turned around.

"I'm sorry, Genzo. I just can't bring myself to say that I don't have a family, even if it means losing my life…even if it's just words, I still want to be called their mother. They're my daughters, aren't they?" she asked, tears in her eyes.

"BELL-MÈRE!" two young voices said. The woman looked to see the two children she had adopted running towards her, and kneeled down to embrace them for what she knew would be the last time.

"I WAS LYING!" Nami bawled. Bell-mère smiled lightly.

"I really wanted to buy you girls some more things, books or clothes…forgive me for not being a better mother to you two," she said.

"No! We don't want anything! Please stay with us, don't die, Bell-mère!" they cried.

"Aren't you a former Marine, Bell-mère? You're strong! You should be able to be beat these guys up easily!" Nojiko begged.

"I still haven't shown you my map of the world!" Nami cried.

"Are these kids your daughters?" growled the monstrous fishman in front of her. She looked up, facing her death with a strong face.

"Yes. Don't lay a finger on them," she said.

"Of course…as long as you die quietly," Arlong said, smiling humorlessly as he raised a pistol.

"SOMEONE HELP!" Nami screamed.

Genzo seemed to throw caution to the wind as he pulled out a pair of pistols and began firing at Arlong. She saw out of the corner of her eye that a stingray fishman blocked the bullets with only his arm and slashed him across the chest. Cries from nearby informed her that the entire village was coming in an attempt to help her.

 _They can't win,_ Bell-mère thought, knowing it to be true, even as Arlong ordered his men to attack.

"You'll be the first example. Die for your worthless love," Arlong snarled, smirking. Bell-mère opened her mouth to speak her last words of love to her daughters, but a scream of pain from the fishman in front of her stalled that, and all of the fishmen who had been heading towards the villagers stopped and looked at Arlong in confusion.

What greeted their eyes was a hand that seemed to have been frozen solid, along with the pistol. Before anyone could recover, a massive wind erupted from directly beside Arlong, sending him crashing into several trees on the other side of the house. Everyone stared with more confusion than anything else, even the other fishmen, up until a figure dressed in black materialized, twirling a strange-looking staff and looking towards the fishman that had been sent flying.

"DON'T LAY ANOTHER FINGER ON BELL-MÈRE!" she screamed, as the voice was clearly female.

Bell-mère stared at her in confusion, but found herself distracted another moment later as the rest of the Arlong Pirates charged at her. The woman did not even turn around as eight more figures in black cloaks appeared between the first figure and pirates. In less than the time that it took her to blink twice, the entire group of monsters had been attacked, and fell into a beaten, bloody, burned mess. Only one remained standing, an octopus man who was currently…bound in place by twenty disembodied arms.

Bell-mère's jaw hit the ground, as did those of her daughters and the entire village watching nearby. Silence fell for only a few moments before an enraged roar came from nearby.

"YOU WORTHLESS HUMANS! HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO US, THE SUPERIOR FISHMEN?!" Arlong yelled, surging towards the figure with the staff. She nonchalantly raised it, and then swung it down; the result was a blade of wind that knocked Arlong back again.

"Sanji, get Genzo and Dr. Nako over here. Chopper, treat them," she said before twirling her staff again and vanishing. The next moment, Bell-mère found herself forced onto the ground beside her daughters by a small but strong figure that began looking over her arm and face, Genzo and the doctor right next to him.

"Don't worry, I'm a doctor. I'll take care of this. Dr. Nako, you help Genzo with that cut," he said, in a voice that sounded remarkably like a child. The mannerisms he used, however, made it clear that he knew what he was doing. Nako barely hesitated before shaking off the shock of the situation and partaking of the small doctor's supplies to start treating Genzo. Bell-mère gritted her teeth a bit as the small doctor dabbed at her arm, her daughters still clinging to her, but she was amazed at the pace at which the hurt began to ebb away.

"Who are you people?" she asked.

"We'll explain after Arlong's dealt with," the figure replied, now bandaging her up. Bell-mère looked up from the treatment she was receiving to see that all of the other villagers were trying, with a distinct lack of success, to pick up their jaws. She saw exactly why at the next moment, when her eyes fell upon the impossible sight of a rapidly coalescing group of winds buffeting Arlong from all sides.

"The weather forecast is calm, not a cloud in the sky. However, the winds of time are carrying tomorrow's anger that will clash with yesterday's pain, resulting in a sudden tornado."

At that point, the wind began to rise into the air, imprisoning Arlong in the whirlwind.

"Also, be on the lookout for a sudden thunderstorm. In particular, watch out for lightning strikes, because they're aiming for you, Arlong! WEATHER EGGS!"

Two orbs appeared out of thin air at the next moment, and Bell-mère could see what looked like black clouds inside.

"Whoa! She's using _two_ of those things?!" asked one of the figures with what sounded like panic.

"Calm down, I'm sure she's got it under control," said another.

"HATCH, DEAR LIGHTNING!"

The two eggs opened, and thunderclouds poured out, growing and coalescing into a massive cloud in a matter of seconds. The tornado rose into the clouds, which took on a spherical form as it crackled with electricity. The figure materialized a moment later.

"Robin, cover everyone's ears and eyes," she said, and then raised her staff.

"THUNDER BREED TEMPO: RAIGO!" she screamed.

Bell-mère felt gentle hands cover her eyes and ears, and she held her daughters close as blinding lightning and deafening thunder assaulted her senses. Her daughters were trembling, but her hands around their heads revealed that hands were covering their eyes and ears as well. Remembering the octopus' bindings, she relaxed; in fact, she realized, that probably saved their senses.

It was a few moments before she felt the doctor begin dabbing at her arm again, and another few before the arms covering her eyes and ears vanished. She looked at her daughters to see their eyes still covered, and looked at the figures, intending to demand that their arms be removed from her children. Then she saw the figure of Arlong, and such thoughts died out of her mind.

"B-Bell-mère? Is it over?" Nami asked.

"We're safe, Nami, but both of you keep your eyes shut for now; I'll let you know when you can open them," Bell-mère said quietly; she had no intention of letting her daughters lay eyes on the blackened, bloody mass of deformed cartilage that had been holding her at gunpoint a few moments before. They were already going to have enough nightmares. She held them close with her good arm while she felt her other being bandaged up, and stared after the figures in cloaks. A bulkier one of them gathered Arlong's body and deposited it before the octopus.

"A-Arlong," the octopus said, tearing up. But as the figure who had laid the body before him removed his hood, his sadness faded before pure shock.

"J-J-Jinbe?!"

"I looked away for ten minutes, and Arlong decides to enslave a group of innocent humans who had never even heard of Big Bro Ti or Otohime. It's unbelievable how much the hatred for humans has poisoned our race."

"B-B-But Jinbe, h-how—?"

"I'm not the Jinbe you know, Hachi. I come from eleven years in the future, where I've seen the hostility between humans and fishmen die, and where I met an old man who gave my crew the power to return to the past and save something we lost. I've never forgiven myself for the pain Arlong caused for eight years on this island before he was finally stopped. And I've just saved you from years of trouble that you would have been ashamed to ever speak to Rayleigh or Shakky about."

The octopus looked to be in shock.

"The rest of the crew will be imprisoned for what they intended; you're the only one I can trust not to act out against this. Go to the nearest Marine base after Base 16 and turn in Arlong, and see to it that his crew is arrested. Then return to Fishman Island, and inform my past self of everything that happened here as soon as you get there. Also, impress upon him two things: make sure Hody Jones doesn't have any chance to act on his hatred. And make sure that nobody loyal to Arlong gets the chance to enslave any islands, especially this one. When that's done, I suggest you forgo piracy and look into opening that Takoyaki stand you dreamed about."

Hachi stared at Jinbe for a few seconds in silence.

"…Can I take Kuroobi and Chew with me? They wanted to open the stand, too," he asked at last. Jinbe sighed.

"Inform my past self first, then see about getting them released. But make sure that they can get past their hatred; if they don't, one of the earliest consequences will be the death of the queen."

Hachi's eyes opened wide in horror, and then his expression hardened. He sighed, and bowed his head.

"All right, Jinbe. I'll do it."

Jinbe nodded, and the bonds holding the octopus were released.

"One more thing," he said, before leaning in and whispering something. Hachi nodded again, and then ran away, carrying Arlong with him.

With the monstrous threat dealt with, Bell-mère watched as the man that had spoken, Jinbe apparently, replaced his hood before turning back towards her, along with the other eight figures. The last one, the one who had bent the weather to her will to attack Arlong, stood directly before her again, looking down at her and her daughters, whose eyes were now uncovered.

"Are you all right, Bell-mère?" she asked, extending a hand to help her up. Bell-mère took it without hesitation, rising to her feet and showing no weakness.

"I'm fine, thanks. Girls, you can open your eyes now."

Nami and Nojiko both opened their eyes and looked at the figure in awe.

"That was awesome! How did you do that?" Nami said.

The woman chuckled, and showed her staff...which was now the size of a baton.

"The Clima-Tact, a one-of-a-kind weapon that lets me control the weather," she explained.

"That _is_ impressive, and I don't want to seem ungrateful for saving my life, but who the hell are you people?" Bell-mère asked with a frown.

"Pirates," the woman replied simply. Bell-mère stiffened slightly, and the woman spoke further.

"We came here from the future thanks to a strange old man. He gave us the chance to return to a past time and save something that we had lost before. In our time, Arlong came here and killed you, and enslaved Nami for her mapmaking skills."

Bell-mère's eyes widened, and she subconsciously held Nami closer to her.

"He made her draw sea charts day in and day out, but made her a deal for her cooperation: if she could pay him 100 million berries, he'd set her and Cocoyasi free. So, she became a thief, but one that stole only from pirates. It was hard work, and she had to endure the cold stares of the village throughout eight years, pretending that she had joined Arlong's crew just for the money she got. The last crew she stole from was a kindhearted group of pirates that gave her a sense of belonging that she hadn't felt since you died. She cried when she had to leave them, and even tried to push them away when they followed her home to try to get her back. She had gathered 93 million berries by that time, but Arlong used a loophole in the deal by hiring a group of corrupt Marines to steal her money. The village, which had secretly known the situation the whole time, was furious, and rushed off to Arlong's base in a suicide charge, just like they were trying to now."

She paused, and Nojiko hesitantly spoke up.

"But…they didn't all die, did they?"

Bell-mère dreaded the answer.

"No, they didn't. Out of desperation, Nami begged the pirates for help. They gave it without hesitation, and singlehandedly decimated Arlong's crew, freeing the village. Nami joined the crew permanently, and sailed with that crew all the way to the end of the Grand Line, finally completing her map of the entire world as a result."

Bell-mère stared at the woman.

"And what does that have to do with you? That Jinbe person over there seemed to know the fishmen, was this a mistake of his?"

"In a way," Jinbe spoke up.

"I was part of a fishman pirate crew known as the Sun Pirates, formed as a way of salvation for the fishmen suffering in slavery. Arlong was also a member of that crew; he had grown up hating humans because of their prejudice towards our race, and any chance of that changing died when they caused the death of our old captain. In this time, the Sun Pirates have recently disbanded due to me becoming one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, to ensure that my fellow crewmates can return home and live their lives without persecution. The one bit of anxiety I had was Arlong, who been arrested for trying to avenge the captain's death, but he was released as part of the bargain. He gathered his crew and left the island almost as soon as he was freed. I warned him not to try anything, and I'd be there if I heard any news. But he journeyed here, far away from Fishman Island, and bribed the nearest Marine Base to make sure news didn't leak out to anyone. I…still don't find myself worthy of the forgiveness your daughter gave me when I apologized for it in my time," he finished quietly.

Bell-mère blinked slowly, any hostility she had gained when hearing the story vanishing; when all was said and done, he regretted more than what he was responsible for.

"I see. So, you came back to this time to correct that mistake?" she asked.

"No, it wasn't Jinbe's choice to come here. It was mine; I came here to keep Nami from watching her mother die right in front of her, and regret complaining about her not having money for the rest of her life."

The woman finally raised her hands and removed her hood. The young woman revealed underneath had long, flowing orange hair and teary eyes. Bell-mère understood the truth for only a moment before the woman wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly.

"Bell-mère…I've missed you so much," she whispered, tears now flowing freely down her face. Bell-mère slowly raised her hands and held the young woman that she now knew was her daughter, dismissing that she was a pirate and embracing her as tightly as she could.

It was several minutes before they finally separated, and Bell-mère looked with interest and scrutiny at the crew behind her, who had also removed their hoods. Five of them seemed to be normal humans. One, the doctor that had treated her, was a small bipedal deer, barely discernable from a raccoon-dog by the antlers beneath his hat. One was a massive man with a metal nose and oddly-shaped chin…and body. The one she knew to be Jinbe was a bulky blue-skinned fishman. And then…there was a skeleton. Literally a skeleton, somehow with a black afro. It took a few seconds before she could get past the oddness of what she saw to speak.

"So…my daughter became a pirate. I hope that the crew you joined isn't a band of bloodthirsty maniacs," she said quietly. Nami chuckled.

"Bell-mère, if they didn't call themselves pirates, you'd never believe that they were from the way that they act. Well, except maybe Zoro," Nami replied, smirking.

"Oh, shut up, witch," said one of the men, an intimidating figure with green hair and a scar across one eye. That didn't seem to bother Bell-mère, however; faster than blinking, she had appeared next to him, and a goose egg was on his scalp.

"DON'T YOU DARE INSULT MY DAUGHTER!" she snapped.

The remainder of the crew burst out laughing.

"Wow. You're definitely Nami's mother," said one of them, a long-nosed man that she recognized as the one who had panicked when Nami unleashed those strange eggs from his voice.

"Yep. She'd have to be, to do all of that without Haki," Zoro said, slowly rising to his feet again. Bell-mère couldn't help but smile.

"So, you're…me?"

Bell-mère and the crew looked back towards Nami, who was kneeling in front of her younger self and her sister.

"Yep. I'm you at age 21, the best navigator and mapmaker in the world."

"But you're a…pirate?"

"Part of the nicest pirate crew you'll ever meet," she said reassuringly, and gestured to the rest of the crew.

"They're annoying sometimes, but they've become as much of a family for me as Nojiko and Genzo. Come on, I'll introduce you."

* * *

Within ten minutes, all traces of tension were gone; the crew of fishmen had been moved to the coast and bound up by strong ropes before anyone was the wiser, and the aftermath of the invasion had turned into a full-blown party thanks to the Straw Hat Pirates.

Young Nami and Nojiko were in the center of most of the festivities, spending all of the time that they could with their future family. It had been remarkably easy for them to get past the disturbing appearance of the musician, Brook, when he began joking and playing party music, and the antics of Franky the robot shipwright alongside him had the girls and many of the villagers doubled over with laughter.

Nico Robin the archaeologist and Usopp the sniper entertained everyone with stories of their adventures, talking of giants and sky islands and sea monsters and saving kingdoms. Even with the outrageous display of strength that they showed earlier, if it hadn't been for Robin's down-to-earth way of phrasing the details, they may not have believed them. As it was, Nami was practically glowing with excitement, and Nojiko was strongly considering going with them when the time came.

Sanji the chef took impossibly little time to prepare a gourmet feast fit for the entire village. Nobody could tell where he had gotten the ingredients from, though he mentioned to Nami that he always kept a few spice jars on hand, but they stopped caring as soon as they tasted his food. Nami was hooked from the first bite of roast duck and stew, but the tangerine sauce provided by Bell-mère's own orchard made her almost faint in bliss. Bell-mère herself barely had a drop on her tongue before she demanded the recipe, which was given to her along with a few other delectable tangerine recipes exactly one second later.

"I had some spare time at the last places we visited, and thought you might like to have the recipes I've developed for your daughter over the years," he had explained. Bell-mère had given him a bit of a stern look, clearly conveying that he was to watch it with her, but had thanked him sincerely nonetheless.

Jinbe took a while to join in the festivities, but when young Nami approached him and timidly asked him, he conceded. Any feelings of fear because of the fishmen that had invaded her island faded as she spoke more with him, and she was soon captivated with the story of Fishman Island.

Roronoa Zoro, who they learned had taken Dracule Mihawk's title of greatest swordsman in the world, turned out to be a relatively laid-back person. It was clear to everyone that if battle was involved, he could quickly become a monster, but perhaps due to the ease with which Bell-mère could make him heel, Nami found no fear looking at him. He had little to say to her, but she got the feel of a protective big brother off of him. A protective big brother that really, really liked to drink.

The doctor, Tony Tony Chopper, had made short work of Bell-mère's and Genzo's injuries before joining in the party himself, contributing with a pair of chopsticks in his nose stretching his lips out. It came as a surprise to many that the captain of them all, the Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy, the one who had defeated Arlong and freed Nami in the original time, was no less happy-go-lucky than the rest of the crew; if anything, he was the most childlike among them, and the powers he displayed from the Gum-Gum Fruit only served to make him more entertaining.

It was the best time that young Nami could ever remember having, and throughout it all, Bell-mère watched from a short distance. Older Nami sat beside her, and even as they spoke about their respective pasts—Bell-mère interested in what her daughter would go through, and Nami eager to hear what her mother's time as a Marine had been like—both were content to watch her younger self's interaction for several minutes. Finally, Bell-mère broke their silence.

"I see what you mean. If this is what the Pirate King and his crew are like, I may have chosen the wrong career path," she said with a smirk. Her tone was only half-joking.

Nami gave a sigh.

"You'd really be amazed, Bell-mère, just how much evil there really is in the World Government. Sure, we came across a lot of pirates on our journey, and there were only a few that I could actually consider good, but learning just how the World Government came to power, and what lengths they'd go to just to make sure nobody ever finds out the truth…it makes me sick."

The mother looked to her daughter.

"Really? Would you like to elaborate on that?"

Nami shook her head, her smile becoming a little sad.

"Not really, Bell-mère; the old man who let us come back here to save you warned us that we'd only be able to stay in each time period for one hour. And saving you here isn't going to change anything in my time; I don't want to waste the chance I have to see you again, talk to you again after all these years, talking about ancient history that you'll find out anyway in a decade or so."

Bell-mère nodded, feeling similarly sad herself at what this version of her daughter had gone through. She sighed.

"I am sorry that I couldn't give you more growing up. I'm probably not going to be able to give your younger self much this time either."

Nami turned to look at her with a blank expression, and blinked several times.

"…You know, back before this day in my time, I always wanted to do this," she said. Then Bell-mère found herself doubled over, rubbing the back of her head where a comically large bump was.

 _That settles it. When it comes to Nami's safety as part of what must be the most infamous crew in the world, I have NOTHING to worry about,_ Bell-mère thought to herself.

"DON'T TALK CRAP LIKE THAT! YOU'LL BE THERE FOR HER, AND THAT'S ALL SHE NEEDS! MONEY DOESN'T MATTER ANYWHERE AS MUCH AS FAMILY DOES!"

Many of the partygoers had stopped to look at Nami, including her younger self and her sister. Older Nami took a few breaths as Bell-mère stared at her with an unreadable expression.

"Besides," Nami continued, significantly less angry, "once she joins the Straw Hat Pirates, she'll be able to bring home more money than you know what to do with. I still remember the first time I saw One Piece."

Bell-mère and many others sweatdropped as they saw Nami's eyes turn into sparkling Berry symbols.

"…Is this normal?" she asked the other pirates.

"Yes," they said in unison, completely deadpan.

"Somehow, that's even worse than if it wasn't," she sighed, while younger Nami looked almost awestruck.

"Jinbe!" came a voice.

Everyone present turned to see Hachi, the octopus fishman that had been spared from the brutal defeat of the rest of the crew, hauling six massive sacks towards them, one in each arm. He set them down after a moment, and Jinbe nodded.

"Good work, Hachi."

"Nami, is there a reason that your crew didn't attack him?" Bell-mère asked.

"When Arlong's crew was arrested, Hachi was the only one who got away. He abandoned piracy to live out his old dream of opening a Takoyaki stand. We met him again at the end of the first half of the Grand Line as a friend of a mermaid and starfish that we rescued from a Sea King. It took me a while to forgive him, but he proved that he was worth being called a friend," Nami replied, and then called after Jinbe.

"What's in the sacks?"

"Oh, I just thought that your family could find some use for the treasure that was on Arlong's ship," Jinbe replied, smirking knowingly. Quick as a flash, young Nami was opening one of the sacks, and her jaw dropped as she saw the berry notes within.

"Thank you so much, Jinbe!" she said ecstatically, and ran over to Bell-mère.

"Look, Bell-mère! We're rich!"

Bell-mère smiled, but that smile dropped rather quickly when she saw that her young daughter's eyes had turned to Berry symbols. She looked accusingly at her older version, which just laughed.

"You look good, kid," she said, and was promptly punched by her mother.

"DON'T ENCOURAGE HER TO DO _THAT_! I'm even fine with her joining this pirate crew after what I've seen, but _that_ is just unhealthy!"

Older Nami didn't seem to hear her as she rubbed her head. She looked up, and Bell-mère's exasperation melted away as she saw her face.

"Wow. I didn't realize that I even missed you hitting me that much," she said softly.

The mother and daughter embraced each other once more, and young Nami found herself thinking about just what she would have gone through if Bell-mère hadn't been saved. Considering it for even a second brought tears to her eyes, and as she wiped them away, she made up her mind.

"Bell-mère, I'm sorry that I said I wished I had been adopted by someone rich. You're the best mother ever," she said.

The two older women separated as she spoke, and Bell-mère hugged both of her younger daughters.

"And you two are the best daughters that I could ever ask for," she replied.

The future crew gathered together as Bell-mère released Nami and Nojiko and stood up. Bell-mère's eyes locked onto the captain.

"Monkey D. Luffy. I have to thank you for the happiness that you've given my daughter, and keeping her safe throughout your journey."

"Of course! She's my friend," Luffy said with a grin. Bell-mère smiled briefly back.

"But I'm warning you now: if you ever do anything to take away her smile, I WILL find out, and I WILL find a way to come to the future and kill you for it," she said, her tone as serious as cancer. Luffy laughed.

"Genzo made the same promise when we left last time, and I'm still alive," he said jovially. Then he looked at her more seriously.

"But I promise you, I'd sooner die than hurt any of my friends."

The few reservations that Bell-mère had left faded, and a moment later, light shone out from the ten pirates, making all present shield their eyes.

"I guess our time's up. I'm sorry, Bell-mère; I wish I could have stayed longer," older Nami said.

"What are you apologizing for, Nami? You saved my life, and gave my daughters a much brighter future. And you've lived out your dreams just like you said you would. I couldn't be prouder of you," Bell-mère replied, tearing up a bit. It was too much for Nami, who rushed to hug her yet again.

"I…I'm so glad I got to see you again, one last time," she whispered. Bell-mère raised her arms to hold her daughter close for what little time she could.

"I love you, Nami," Bell-mère whispered.

Nami slowly released her as she stepped back towards her crew, and they locked eyes one more time, for a second that contained an eternity.

"I love you too, Bell-mère," Nami said, smiling at her mother.

Then the light vanished, taking the pirates with it.

 **So, there we are. An immense amount of gratitude to lunanime for catching my mistakes and inspiring a good portion of this chapter. Now, let me see if I can cover a few things.**

 **Loveoflife: The point is not to create as many dimensions as possible; that's merely a side effect. By moving from most to least recent, the timeline that they go down remains exactly the same as they remember. It would be much more complicated if they went from past to future, and their destination had to be determined between the dimension that they just left and the one that they first left; it's much simpler to go from future to past. *Pauses.* Yes, I am indeed developing mechanics for the unnamed Devil Fruit powers of the unnamed old man and stating that he would take the simpler route, which he discovered after years of experience with his powers. I'm going to stop typing about that now, before I turn this into an impromptu miniature story about that OC, who isn't even technically mine to begin with.**

 **Next, the poll on who they go back to save. So far, it's 4 votes for Corazon, 1 for Otohime, 2 for Skypiea, and 2 for an extra option that I had not put up before. As promised, if that option gets one additional vote, I'll edit it into the prologue. The poll will continue until all of the Straw Hats except Brook have completed their interventions, which should be Chapter 9.**

 **As for order, now that it's established what the pattern is…I'm estimating here, as the timeline isn't precise in regards to the deaths of most of the Straw Hats' loved ones. Franky will be next, as it is stated that Tom died 8 years before the start of the main storyline. Usopp will be after that; I'm estimating that Banchina died when Usopp was the same age as Carrot, Pepper, and Onion, that being 9, which was also 8 years before the current storyline. Zoro will follow that, and then Jinbe. Robin will be last…and I must say, I'm looking forward to writing hers the most.**

 **So, that's all for now. Forgive me if I'm a bit slow on the next update; college is starting back up in a few days, and I need to give the proper attention to my schoolwork. So, until the next update, always remember: Patience is a virtue.**


	7. Water 7

The familiar scent of the ocean breeze returned to the pirates' nostrils as the time jump finished, but equally prominent were the scents of wood and metal. Most of the crew had only just begun to recognize where they were from the countless pieces of ruined ships around them when Franky spoke.

"This is Scrap Island. This is the day that Spanda stole my battleships to frame Tom!"

He looked around frantically, and spying the ships that he had used, moved over to them as fast as Shaving. The others followed at equal speed…by which time Franky had already disassembled two of them and was working on a third.

 _Even after everything else I've seen, I still say that doesn't make sense,_ Usopp thought to himself.

"Franky, wait," Robin said firmly. The shipwright had already finished with the third ship, but slowly turned back to look at Robin before he could do more.

"What is it, Robin?" he growled.

"If you disassemble the ships, Spandam and his agents won't have the chance to attempt to frame Tom."

Franky blinked with a blank expression, along with everyone else.

"…Isn't that the point?" Luffy asked. Robin gave a chilling smile before speaking again.

"Personally, I prefer the idea of letting his agents steal the battleships. We catch them in the act and bring them onboard the Judicial Ship that they attempted to attack, and interrogate Spandam before judge and jury. Perhaps they'd even let us act as executioners."

It was at that moment that they remembered exactly how much Spandam had tormented Robin when she had been in his custody. He had beaten her, taunted her… _made her cry._ A wave of Haki washed over them before Luffy spoke a single word.

"Franky?"

The cyborg had already made up his mind.

"I'll be the one to interrogate him."

"Guys, let's get going; we have company!" Sanji said, replacing his hood. A group of uniformed Agents approached the ships, looking around them with an air of grim determination. But though they thought they had heard voices around the area of the ships, there was nobody to be seen when they arrived and began to board them.

* * *

Many of the inhabitants of the city of Water 7 were flocking to the Judicial Ship that was docking at the island. Tom, the master fishman shipwright, had fulfilled the promise he made and constructed the sea train; there were none who would object to him being acquitted of the 'crime' of building the Oro Jackson. A young blue-haired man named Cutty Flam, nicknamed Franky to those who knew him, paused in his shopping to observe the ship as it came in, and the civilians began flocking to it.

 _Wow. It's been fourteen years already_ , he thought, looking over the ship. Memories stirred of the last time that ship had come, and though he still felt resentment for how his teacher had been attacked before, he couldn't help but feel happy with what had been done since then to acquit him. It shouldn't have been necessary, but at least it would be over soon.

The peace was shattered instantly as an explosion erupted next to the judicial ship, rocking the boat where it was docked. More explosions followed quickly, all of them around the ship. While many of the spectators began to flee, thinking it a pirate attack, Franky spotted some figures in black around the ship; they seemed to appear wherever the explosions were. Gritting his teeth, he dropped the shopping basket before running towards one of them, fist outstretched.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" he yelled, punching with all of his strength at the nearest one. The figure caught his fist in its palm, and fear washed over Franky as he felt the strength behind it; it was more powerful than one of his battleships. Then that fear faded before pure shock as the figure stretched an arm an impossible distance above his head, and caught a cannonball that was aiming at the ship. The figure released Franky's hand and pointed in the distance, and Franky's eyes widened in horror as he recognized several of his own battleships, his own Battle Franky ships, firing towards the judicial ship.

"What…what the…?" he managed.

"We'll explain everything later, Franky. For now, just know that we're here to help," the man said, his voice suggesting relative youth. Franky didn't respond, only watching spellbound as the group of figures—eight that he could count—continued fending off shot after shot from his Battle Franky ships. After a minute or so of this, Franky noticed the old judge that had pardoned Tom before, Jorge, coming onto the judicial ship's deck along with his guards.

"GUYS, NOW! DISARM THOSE BATTLESHIPS!" roared a massive figure, appearing on the deck next to the judge. Franky was hardly thinking at the moment, only focusing on getting some answers as to what exactly the hell was going on. As he ran up the steps to the ship, he saw out of the corner of his eye that several of the figures in black were moving towards the battleships. One was swimming, two were flying, and one was running on the water. He slowed down the slightest amount as he took that in, confirming that he was indeed seeing the impossible sight that he thought he was seeing, and then continued to run up the steps. The massive black figure was facing the judge, who was surrounded by many Marines that had their rifles in their hands, but not raised to fire. His arrival drew everyone's attention.

"OK. Your Honor, do you have any idea what the hell is going on here?"

"We appear to be under attack, and are being protected thanks to the intervention of these strangers," the judge replied. His voice made it clear that he was not coping perfectly with the current events either.

"Besides the obvious," Franky growled.

"This gentleman has neglected to elaborate beyond the obvious, though he says he'll do so as soon as the perpetrators are exposed," Jorge said, gesturing to the massive man beside him. Franky turned to him, and was promptly cut off when three of the figures from before returned over to where they were, jumping and landing on the deck with a group of men in their grasps, all dressed in suited uniforms.

"Government agents, huh? Who sent you to attack the judicial ship, and why?" the massive man growled.

The agents remained perfectly silent.

"Answer his question," the judge said, peering at them sternly.

"You have no authority over us, Jorge," spat one of the agents.

One of the other cloaked figures moved to stand beside the massive man.

"Maybe you didn't hear the question," he said, and Franky recognized him as the man that he had tried to attack before. The next moment, Franky felt a strange and terrible force pressing down hard on him, something about that man making him sweat bullets.

"WHO SENT YOU TO ATTACK THIS SHIP?!" he yelled. The agents, who looked to be on the verge of passing out, spoke in unison.

"S-Spandam, chief of Cipher Police no. five."

The aura died as fast as it had come, and the agents collapsed, out cold. Franky sunk to his knees himself, staring at the man; whoever he was, he was glad he wasn't an enemy. The massive man spoke again.

"Your Honor, I'm sure you heard what they said. Now, I'd like for someone to keep a record of the interrogation that's about to happen, just to be sure that nobody objects when this bastard gets what's coming to him."

A stream of indignant yells and screams coming from above them cut off any chance of responding. Looking up, they saw one of the cloaked figures with a man in his arms, slowly descending towards them. As they touched down, the man squirmed out of the figure's arms, crashing to the deck before rising to his feet. Franky's eyes narrowed as he recognized the panda-like man that had come to see Tom a few days before…about the Pluton blueprints.

"WHAT THE HELL IS ALL OF THIS?! I DEMAND—"

His speech was abruptly cut off by the spontaneous appearance of many arms all across his body, pinning his arms to his sides, binding his feet in place, and covering his mouth. At the same time, two of the figures drew swords and crossed them beneath Spandam's chin, one white and one black, ready to decapitate him.

* * *

Spandam had been smugly awaiting the news of the success of his plan back on the Scrap Island. That had lasted all of one minute before the agents reported back that a mysterious group of figures were fending off the attack, and not one shot had made it to the judicial ship yet. Furious, Spandam had looked through his binoculars to see a group of figures in black slicing, striking, or deflecting the blows with apparent ease. His eyes widened as he saw a pair of them approaching the battleships themselves with the Moonwalk technique.

"Impossible! The only ones who should be capable of using any of the Six Powers are Dad's subordinates! I have authority for this mission directly from the Five Elder Stars; not even CP9 has the right to interfere with this," Spandam said furiously.

His eyes widened further still as he saw the Marines and agents being abducted from the battleships by one of the flying figures and two that had approached on the water. The battleships were left dead in the water, and Spandam grimaced.

"Well, at least they're not going to say anything. Still, this is absurd. After I get out of this mess, I'll have to come up with another way to frame Tom and get those blueprints. But one way or another, I'll get my hands on Pluton, and I'll bring this 'Great Pirate Era' to its end! And most importantly of all, I'll get my promotion! I might even join the Five Elder Stars themselves…or I could just use Pluton to overthrow them, it's not like anyone could stand up to that monster. Oh, yes! Being king of the entire world, I love that idea!"

Spandam grinned as images of his own splendor ran rampant through his mind, and he set the binoculars down, reaching into his coat to grab a Transponder Snail, intending to call his father to ask about rogue CP9 agents. After all, those two that had been flying towards the battleships were definitely using Moonwalk…those two… _two_?

"…Wait a minute. Only one of those two was grabbing the agents. But then…where's the other one?" Spandam wondered aloud, picking up the binoculars again.

"Right behind you," came a voice an inch from his ear.

Spandam screamed, growing louder even as he was forcibly grabbed before the figure began jumping.

"PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!"

"You might want to rethink that," the figure said dryly. Spandam then noticed that he was now several meters above the sea, and he swallowed before resuming his rant.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM, YOU BASTARD? YOU'RE INTERFERING IN MATTERS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO THE WORLD GOVERNMENT! DO YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE THAT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE PUNISHED FOR THIS UNDER THE LAW?! I'LL HAVE YOU HANGED!"

And so the litany of threats continued up until the figure brought him on the deck of the Judicial Ship. He barely acknowledged the presence of the judge and Marines, or that the other agents seemed to be unconscious.

"WHAT THE HELL IS ALL OF THIS?! I DEMAND—"

His ranting ended at last when he felt himself become bound. Gentle but firm arms gripped him tightly all over his body while two blades crossed by his throat, and his eyes widened in horror before he began attempting to squirm out of his bonds. A massive figure dressed in black with enormous and oddly-shaped arms walked over to him, towering above him and drawing his sight.

"Court is now in session. The honorable judge Jorge presides, and the cloaked strangers serve as chief witnesses for the prosecution," he stated firmly. Jorge raised an eyebrow, but nodded. Then the giant turned back to Spandam, and spoke in a voice filled with hate.

"You're in no place to demand anything. Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to ask you some simple yes-or-no questions. And every time you lie or don't answer, we're going to cut something off. And I guarantee you, they will be things you will miss," he snarled.

As if to emphasize his point, the blades moved briefly to touch Spandam's left shoulder and armpit, poised to amputate the arm. The man sweated more, and nodded frantically, clearly ready to comply. The hand covering his mouth moved down slightly to caress his throat, clearly ready to grip it if provoked, and the swordsmen returned their blades to be directly before that hand before the figure began his interrogation.

"Are you Spandam?"

"Yes," he replied immediately.

"The chief of CP5?"

"Yes."

"The son of Spandine?"

"…Yes," Spandam replied, thinking again that his might have to do with CP9.

"Do you have authorization to be on this island?"

"Yes."

"Do you like elephants?"

Spandam, along with everyone else he could see, looked puzzled at the non sequitur.

"Um, yes?" he replied truthfully. His fears began to ebb away at that point; maybe this wasn't something to worry about after all.

"Did you come to this island because of an appeal you made to the Five Elder Stars?"

Spandam stiffened, his sudden hope fading fast.

"Y-yes."

"Do you desire to bring the Great Pirate Era to an end as fast as possible?"

"Yes."

"Did your appeal have to do with that?"

"Yes."

"Did it involve one of the Ancient Weapons?"

The hands gripped him tighter, and he swallowed, feeling his neck struggle to bulge against the hand at his neck.

"Y-yes."

"Was it Pluton?"

"Y-y-yes."

The figure looming over him seemed to grow even larger as he spoke even more coldly.

"Did you send orders to these agents to commandeer those battleships, known to be the creations of Tom's apprentice, Cutty Flam, who is currently standing right here and therefore could not have used those ships, to destroy this Judicial Ship with the intention to frame Tom so that you could interrogate him for the location of the blueprints for Pluton that he _supposedly_ has in his possession, but denied as much when you spoke to him a few days ago?"

An unearthly chill invaded Spandam's senses, and he noted in horror that it was emanating from the white sword at his throat; he could feel his skin beginning to freeze. His instinct was to panic, but the logical portion of his mind forced itself forward.

 _They know what the answer to the question is, and if I lie, I'll be dead or worse. There's no choice, I'll have to confess it; Dad can get me out of this mess. The fact that there are rogue CP9 agents involved should get rid of any credibility about this. It won't be any worse than a setback._

"…Yes," he said at last. The swords were removed and the hands vanished, leaving Spandam to fall face-first before the judge, who was glaring down at him alongside Cutty Flam, the Marines, and several civilians that had approached as the interrogation went on.

"Your Honor, allow me to add an additional piece of evidence before you offer your sentence," said the figure that had brought him over, pulling a strange seashell out of his cloak. He pressed a button on it, and the resulting noise made Spandam's blood run cold.

" _…_ _this is absurd. After I get out of this mess, I'll have to come up with another way to frame Tom and get those blueprints. But one way or another, I'll get my hands on Pluton, and I'll bring this 'Great Pirate Era' to its end! And most importantly of all, I'll get my promotion! I might even join the Five Elder Stars themselves…or I could just use Pluton to overthrow them, it's not like anyone could stand up to that monster. Oh, yes! Being king of the entire world, I love that idea!_ "

Spandam was soaked in his own sweat, looking with horror at the shell.

"Spandam of CP5."

Spandam turned slowly to face the judge, whose glare was positively arctic.

"You are charged with the crimes of theft, abuse of government authority and resources, attempted frame-up, attempted destruction of government property, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit high treason." The judge raised his voice as he spoke to the watchers. "Has our jury reached a verdict?"

"GUILTY! GUILTY!" they screamed, far from in unison but with the same words.

"The jury rules in favor of the prosecution. Spandam of CP5, you are hereby stripped of your title, and sentenced to execution," Jorge said gravely.

Spandam did not have so much as a second to respond to this before one of the interrogator's massive hands grabbed his head, lifting him off of the ground.

"Your Honor, I request permission to carry out his sentence immediately," he heard the man say.

"Permission granted," came the reply.

Excruciating pain came across his senses for a single second, and then Spandam knew no more.

* * *

Before the interrogation began, Franky was under the distinct impression that nothing could make him angrier than he was at that moment. That was proven wrong no less than three times throughout the interrogation, and at the moment he heard the judge say 'execution,' he was ready to request that he be granted permission to blow him to oblivion with his battleships.

The disappointment that he felt when he was robbed of that chance was nonexistent, however, when a symphony of bones cracking filled the air as the massive figure squeezed, crushed, and rolled Spandam between his massive gloved hands with the casual motions of crumpling up a piece of paper. The Marines and everyone watching were clearly horrified, and were visibly relieved when he dumped whatever was left over the side of the ship, rather than where anyone could see it.

"…Cutty Flam. Inform Tom that his trial will be postponed for another 24 hours while I recover from these events. Court adjourned," Jorge muttered, staggering back inside the ship. Franky gulped as the figures turned to him, now counting ten altogether.

"You're going to see Tom, huh? We have business with him as well," said the figure that had held the shell. The civilians looked up at hearing this, but none were willing to speak. Not that they had a chance to; in the space of two seconds, Franky had been picked up, and the figures had vanished from sight.

Any sense of direction or location that Franky had vanished as soon as the figure picked him up; the only thing his senses could discern was that the wind and his surroundings were rushing by as if he were riding Rocketman at full speed. He could not be certain for the life of him, but he'd say that it took about two minutes before everything slowed down, and he was set down onto his own two feet. He hazily recognized a couple of familiar figures in front of him.

"Franky, what the hell is going on?" Iceburg demanded.

"Uhh, hey there, Brains-for-ice, did you get the stuff that Kokororo asked for Tom's acquitty partal?" he slurred, stumbling forward a couple of steps before falling flat on his face.

"Wow. I haven't seen anyone that punch drunk since Usopp tried to out-Shave Luffy," said one of the figures. Another one ran forward, pulling something from inside his cloak before waving it in front of Franky's face. The horrible smells emanating cleared his head as fast as blinking, and he got to his feet. He then recognized that Iceburg, Tom, Kokoro, and Yokozuna were all looking at him with questioning expressions, and that he was at the Tom's Workers building. Blinking, he turned back around to see the ten strange figures, and opened his mouth.

"Let's go inside. Then we'll talk," said the massive man. Franky exhaled sharply, but wasted no more time before walking back towards the building, grabbing Iceburg as he went.

"Tom, thanks to these guys, your trial isn't for another day. We need to listen to what they have to say," he barked. Taken aback by the tone Franky used, Iceburg stopped resisting being dragged, and the others followed him inside the small building. Remarkably, all fifteen of them were able to fit comfortably.

"All right, who the hell are you people?" Franky demanded.

In unison, the ten of them raised their hands and removed their hoods, revealing ten very different individuals. A young man with black hair and a scar under one eye; a young man with green hair and a scar over one eye; a young woman with orange hair; a young man with black hair covered by a white hat and orange ear protectors; a young man with blonde hair covering his right eye and a swirly eyebrow over his left; a small bipedal creature that looked very much like a raccoon-dog; a woman with black hair and orange sunglasses on her forehead; a tall skeleton with a black afro; and a blue-skinned whale shark fishman that seemed vaguely familiar. The last one, the massive man that had interrogated Spandam, had blue hair in a buzzcut, a metal nose, and a chin that ended in three points.

"We are the Straw Hat Pirates, the successors of the Roger Pirates," the dark-haired woman said.

A collective silence followed these words before Tom began laughing.

"What kind of a joke is this? If there were another Pirate King, it'd be known all over the world!" he chortled.

"That would be true, if it had already happened in this time," said the green-haired man.

"Our crew was formed eight years from now, and it was three years after that that our captain became the Pirate King. On one of the islands that we visit for training, we met and saved an old man with a time-based Devil Fruit, who allowed us to go back in time to save someone that we lost in our pasts as thanks," said the massive man. Another silence fell after these words, and Franky broke it a moment later.

"Are you saying that if you hadn't come back here…that Spandam bastard would have succeeded in framing Tom? All because of my battleships?" he demanded.

"And it took me eight years to forgive myself for it," the massive man said. As his words sunk in, Franky's eyes widened, and he gaped at the giant.

"Oh, come on! You expect me to believe that Flunky wound up on the Pirate King's crew?" Iceburg asked.

"SHUT IT, ICE-FOR-BRAINS!"

Iceburg's voice and doubts promptly fell silent; both Franky and the massive figure had said that in perfect unison. Nobody else ever called him Ice-for-brains except Franky. As the truth of the situation sunk in, Tom looked to the future Franky.

"Franky…what happened to you?"

"Spandam, that government agent that came after the Pluton blueprints a few days ago, stole my battleships to destroy the Judicial Ship. In my time, he succeeded, and then pinned the crime on us. To keep Iceburg and me from being arrested, you let the absolution of building the Sea Train erase that day's crime, and accepted a death sentence for building the Oro Jackson. They took you to Enies Lobby on the Sea Train you built. I couldn't control my rage; I rowed out and stood on the tracks, and tried to stop the Puffing Tom on my own. You can guess how that went."

Kokoro, Tom, Iceburg, Yokozuna, and young Franky all gaped in horror at the man.

"I was barely alive when I drifted to a scrap ship. To survive, I rebuilt my body with iron, and became a cyborg. It took four years before I made it back to Water 7, which had become a thriving city thanks to the Sea Train and its beloved new mayor, Iceburg. I met with him later that night, and he passed on the blueprints for Pluton to me, hoping that I'd leave the island so that they'd never be found. But I refused to leave the city; the only advice he gave me that I took was discarding the name Cutty Flam, and only going by Franky from then on. I became the head of Water 7's underworld, gathering in starving people, thugs, drunkards, and turning them all into bounty hunters and ship dismantlers that became the Franky Family. All of that lasted for four years until the day that the Straw Hat Pirates found their way to the city.

"Long story short, the government's secret assassin group, CP9, had had a few agents undercover in this city for five years, and they chose that time to arrest me and try to get the blueprints."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute. Sorry to interrupt, but if they knew who you were, why'd they wait four years?" Iceburg asked.

"One, because they thought you still had the blueprints, and you were too good at playing dumb for them to risk making a move any sooner," older Franky said dryly, though it seemed to be a compliment.

"But the main reason was so they could kill two birds with one stone, by getting the only other key to Pluton left in the world: the Straw Hat Pirates' archaeologist, Nico Robin," he said, gesturing towards the dark-haired woman. Tom's Workers stiffened.

"Both of us were taken to Enies Lobby, and in the time it took us to get there, I found out that Robin wasn't the monster that the World Government said she was. She may be the only person in the world who could revive the Ancient Weapons, but that doesn't mean she wanted to."

"None of the Oharan scholars wanted to revive the weapons," Robin said, speaking bitterly.

"The truth is that all they were ever interested in was learning the truth of the Void Century, a gap of history that began 900 years ago, and ended with the disappearance of a powerful kingdom and the founding of the World Government. The risk that someone could learn the truth about that century, and expose the secrets that the World Government has kept hidden since its inception, is the main reason that the study of Poneglyphs was outlawed; the Ancient Weapons were just a convenient cover story. Ohara's scholars discovered too much about the Void Century through their research, and that's the true reason that the island was destroyed."

She turned her gaze on Iceburg.

"I confronted you as mayor when I was in CP9's custody, and informed you that I had no interest in the Ancient Weapons. In response, you stated explicitly that if my desires for learning history would bring the world to ruin, I was better off dying. You were not the first to say something like that; you cannot imagine how many people told me over the course of twenty years that my existence was an unforgivable sin, and that I had no right to want to live."

Everyone in the room flinched at hearing that, and Tom was the next to speak.

"So, you really have no intention of reviving the Ancient Weapons?"

"Let me put it this way: it was after twenty years of being on the run that I found the Poneglyph that told where Pluton was hidden. And the disappointment that it wasn't the Rio Poneglyph, the Poneglyph that told the True History, was too much for me on top of everything else that I had gone through over the years. If it hadn't been for my captain forcibly carrying me out of the collapsing crypt where the Poneglyph was hidden and allowing me a place on his crew, I would have died that day."

Tom slowly nodded, and then looked at his older apprentice.

"Iceburg. As soon as you can, destroy the blueprints; there's no good reason to keep them now."

"…Yes, Tom," he replied, understanding his reasoning.

"All right, now that that's out of the way…what exactly did you do to prevent history from repeating itself?" Tom asked, turning back towards the Straw Hat Pirates.

The story finished a few minutes later. Iceburg, Tom, Kokoro, and Yokozuna all looked a little green as it did.

"Count yourselves lucky that you weren't there to see and hear it," young Franky said, shuddering before looking back at his older self.

"Seriously, maybe he deserved that, but did you have to be so brutal?"

"Did I forget to mention that Spandam went on to become the head of CP9, and was responsible for bringing both Nico Robin and me to Enies Lobby? From the second we were brought to him, he never stopped abusing us physically and mentally, me over Tom's death, and Robin over everything she'd gone through, AND the fact that he planned to capture the Straw Hats even though CP9 had promised to leave them alone in exchange for her coming quietly. And before all of that, his agents planned to assassinate Iceburg and pin it on the Straw Hats, all just so that he could get his hands on Pluton."

"Don't forget that he was ready to sacrifice all 10,000 soldiers on Enies Lobby to a Buster Call just so that he could get away with Robin," said the blond man.

There was a pause as those words sunk in.

"…I was wrong: he didn't deserve that. He deserved _worse_. You killed that bastard way too quickly," young Franky spat.

"For once, Franky, I agree with you," Iceburg said, his voice as cold as his namesake.

"So do I, to be honest, but we don't have a whole lot of time; we only get to stay here for an hour, and most of that's already gone. I wasn't going to waste too much of it on revenge," Franky said, turning to Tom. They were silent for a few moments before Franky bowed his head.

"In my time, the last time I ever saw you, you hit me for trying to disown my battleships for what they had been used for. I won't say anything like that this time…but I'm sorry, Tom. I'm sorry that you had to give up your life because of my stupidity at leaving my battleships laying around."

These words pierced young Franky like the harpoons of his creations, and he slowly turned to look at Iceburg. His fellow apprentice, however, was still staring at his older self, and thoughts anywhere along the lines of 'I told you so' were oceans away from his mind.

All he could see was the massively changed body hidden beneath the cloak, spherical shoulders and massively oversized arms doubtlessly hiding metal and weapons worked into flesh and bone. This was the fate of the man who, if he was being honest, was his best friend. It was the proof that he had never recovered, and would never recover, from the fact that his mistake killed the only real father that he had ever known. There was no room left for him to add insults.

Tom, meanwhile, had half a mind to laugh off what the man was saying. But he didn't, because he saw the same thing that Iceburg did.

"Franky, did I ever blame you in your time?" Tom asked.

"…No."

"Then what makes you think I have any reason to blame you now? You've done nothing wrong; all you've done is prevent something horrible from happening. The only one who could be blamed for this is dead now. You have nothing to apologize for."

Franky trembled, but it seemed to be too much for him to hear; he moved forward and wrapped his arms around the fishman, who hardly hesitated to respond when he heard and saw the tears of his grown apprentice.

"Part of me always knew you'd say that. But…I've just missed you so much, Tom," Franky said, tears surging down his face. Many of the other members of the crew noted that he somehow seemed more dignified with his crying than he normally did.

"So, tell me, how did you ever get out of Enies Lobby?" Kokoro asked after a minute. Most of the crew recoiled away from her as she spoke, much to the confusion of Tom's workers. Franky broke his embrace to look over at Kokoro, his tone dry as he spoke.

"You know, so long as I'm here, I may as well ask you: I considered you family for decades, so why the hell, in all that time, did you never tell us that you were a mermaid?"

Iceburg and young Franky's jaws hit the deck as they looked at Kokoro. She laughed, as did Tom.

"Well, it never came up. If you had asked how I met Tom, I would have told you, but you never did that," she said amusedly.

"M-m-m-mermaid?" Iceburg and young Franky asked. Kokoro nonchalantly removed her shoes, revealing fins where feet should have been.

"When a merman or mermaid turns thirty, their tail splits in half and they can live on the land," she explained.

A small part of the apprentices' minds reasoned that it must have been something of a rude awakening when the Straw Hats found out in their time; Iceburg and even young Franky had no intention of saying it out loud, but she wasn't exactly—

"Pretty fair point, I guess," Franky said with a shrug.

"Anyway, Franky, are you going to introduce the rest of your crew to us? I'd like to hear the story behind that skeleton there," Tom said.

Said skeleton stepped forward with a bow.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Tom. I am 'Dead Bones' Brook, also called 'Humming' Brook and 'Soul King' Brook, musician of the Straw Hat Pirates."

"His appearance is thanks to the Revive-Revive Fruit," said the blond man. "He and his crew sailed the Grand Line years before Roger, but they were massacred in the Florian Triangle. Brook's soul took a year to find its way back to his body, and this is what happened."

"Wait a second! Brook is there right now in this time, and this is before Moria and Thriller Bark showed up!" said Luffy, a massive grin lighting up his face. Seeing him so happy now was a little unnerving for young Franky; how could anyone with a smile that big be so scary?

"Now that I think about it, you're right. Hey, Tom?" Franky asked, looking back at the fishman.

"Brook's crew was killed 42 years ago. Since then, he's been drifting in the Florian Triangle alone. You think you'd be up for rescuing him?"

Tom's Workers seemed horrified at the idea of someone spending that much time alone, and that seemed to be enough to get rid of any reservations they had.

"We'll have him out of that nightmare in a month," Kokoro affirmed.

"In that case, you may want to inform the present time Straw Hat Pirates, when that time comes, that they'll want to arm themselves with a great deal of salt before they leave this island," Brook said.

"Salt?" Iceburg and Franky asked.

"You'll find out," Brook said enigmatically.

"We seem to be helping ourselves out a lot more than we intended at first. Perhaps we should just prepare Haki and Six Powers manuals for everyone we meet as we go back?" Robin suggested.

"Nah, no point in making things too easy on us. But that reminds me…" Franky said. He turned away, and sounds of metal moving reached everyone's ears. When he turned back, he had a thick stack of sheets in his hands, which he handed to his younger self. The front page was labeled "BF-38."

"You don't need to become a cyborg like I have, but if you want to, those are the blueprints. You can have the power to destroy a sea king in your hands whenever you want, and there's no risk of anyone stealing it."

Young Franky flipped over the first page, revealing a full-body picture of his future self: massive metal shoulders, arms, and hands; legs that were half metal, half flesh; and…an open floral shirt and speedo as his only clothing.

"Oh, come on! Out of all the bad traits you have now, the one you don't outgrow is being a pervert?" Iceburg said exasperatedly, looking at the blueprints along with Franky.

"No need for flattery, Iceburg," older Franky said sincerely, causing most of those present to sweatdrop. Tom and Luffy simply laughed, and young Franky pushed those thoughts aside as he looked through the blueprints.

"…It's awesome, sure, but I'm not sure I want to make this huge of a change to myself," he said, clearly conflicted.

"I figured. Like I said, if you decide you want to, the blueprints are right there."

Young Franky nodded, setting them safely aside on a desk.

The conversation proceeded for the better part of the next half hour, the story of Enies Lobby and many other adventures that they would have dancing through Franky's mind. Iceburg was taking notes as he listened, particularly about the CP9 agents and their powers; if he became mayor, he wanted to know what to look out for. Franky, meanwhile, listened carefully to the words about the family he would make from the island's rejects, pondering over what he could do about that. The thought of being a cyborg came back to his mind several times, but he still had difficulty making his choice. Of course, that may have had something to do with the fact that he was taking in the stories of adventures that he would be sharing with a rubber man, a swordsmen with three swords, a weather witch, a liar and sniper, a chef with legs of iron, a reindeer doctor, Nico Robin, a living skeleton that he was going to meet sooner than later, and an ex-Warlord.

Even Iceburg couldn't deny that that was awesome.

But Tom's Workers listened with a sense of particular pride as Franky talked about the Thousand Sunny, his dream ship that Iceburg himself had helped build and (Franky grudgingly admitted) had named. A glint showed in his eye that gave the impression that young Franky would never live that down, but his congratulations were obviously sincere.

"So, you fulfilled your dreams?" Tom asked.

"Every one of them. And now that I've managed to save you, my only regret is not being able to be with you in my time," Franky replied, smiling a bit sadly. Tom returned the smile.

"I am proud of you, Franky, and I know I couldn't have been prouder if I saw you live out your dreams in your time. Just remember that for anything else you do from now on," he began.

"Do it with gusto," he finished, in unison with Franky and a handful of others in the building. They shared a laugh, and then the room erupted in light. Tom understood at once.

"Take care of yourself, Franky," he said.

The two shared another embrace before the cyborg looked to his younger self one more time.

"Franky. Whatever you decide, make sure that in eight years, you'll be ready to join the Straw Hat Pirates. If your dream ship sails under Luffy's jolly roger, there'll be no chance of not making it to Raftel and beyond. And whatever you do, make sure that you grow up to be…"

He rolled his arms together before striking his signature pose, along with several others on the crew.

"SUPER!"

Young Franky grinned even as Iceburg facepalmed. And in the next second, the light was gone, and the pirates with it.

 **Whew. Nearly 2am, but I'm done at last. I kept you all waiting longer than I thought for this, but when I brainstormed ideas for Blueh, Franky's got the least detail; here's hoping that I did it well.**

 **Now, I meant to address this in my Author's Notes last chapter: several of you have been wondering if I intend to continue off of the storylines created as a result of the various interventions. I should elaborate on this now: I only adopted this story because I didn't want to see something so interesting dead-end. I honestly don't think that highly of my skills as an author. I can admit without reservation that I'm skilled, but I'm no master; I can't create something like Once Again, Second Wind, New Game Plus, or Tomorrow's Romance Dawn without taking an obscene amount of time. So the answer is no, I will not. However, if any of you would be interested in writing stories off of the beginnings that I have given, please feel free to PM me and ask; I'd love to see where these storylines go.**

 **Next, the poll. *Pauses.* At this point, I'm honestly wondering if I should bother to leave it open anymore; 8 votes have gone to Corazon (technically 9, but one is indirect), while no other option has gotten more than 2. In light of that, I'll go ahead and say this now: if Corazon maintains the majority of the vote until I publish Jinbe's turn in Chapter 8, I'll close the polls early and have them save Corazon in Chapter 9. Even so, I do have a few more chapters until then, so I probably shouldn't assume too much.**

 **And speaking of the next few chapters, in addition to the normal kudos towards my beta, lunanime, I must also give her kudos for giving me a rather easy solution for the unknown factors of Brook's past (though I have little doubt that it's going to come to light before too much longer), so I will be publishing that one after Robin's. So, the poll will probably remain open until Chapter 10, barring the above statement.**

 **Now, with all of that said, I'm going to get a nice long sleep, because I don't have class tomorrow. Usopp's turn is next. I'll get it up when I can, between college, job-hunting, and the fact that I didn't brainstorm _anything_ for Banchina back when I presented ideas to Blueh. How will I manage to make an absurdly simple intervention last for an hour's time, and make it seem interesting within a few thousand words? Well, there's only one way to find out. And in that regard, it's as I always say: Patience is a virtue.**


	8. Syrup Village

**...**

 **…**

 **I really don't like going back on my word; I should have had this chapter up on Saturday night at the latest. Well, at least it was due to circumstances beyond my control…for every day after Saturday, that is; I could have finished it that day if I put more effort into it rather than other things of less importance. But, it's done now, and I hope it proves to be worth the wait.**

The ocean breeze brushed against the crew as well as the sand beneath them as they arrived in the next time. The climate was mild, and the sun shone above them. Behind them was a path leading up to a forest, with twin cliffs on either side of it. The crew had no difficulty recognizing the area, least of all the first four, who flashed back to seeing claw marks carved throughout the stone.

"Yes! It's my turn. Chopper, I'm counting on you," Usopp said, glancing at the young doctor. Chopper's eyes hardened, the proof of how seriously he took his craft.

"I'll cure her, Usopp," the reindeer said firmly.

"All right, let's get going. We don't know how long we've got," Zoro said, walking towards the ocean. Clearly, his nonsense of direction was stronger than his will without the image of a crewmate's tears burned into his mind. Sanji opened his mouth to insult him, but someone else beat him to it.

"YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY, MOSSHEAD!" yelled Chopper.

"…"

Silence. Silence as dead as Brook fell as the crew turned in unison to look at the reindeer, and the doctor stared blankly back at them. The silence lasted for about half a minute before enough noise erupted from the beach to reach to the end of the Gecko Islands. A casual passerby would find it rather odd seeing a group of seven figures in varying sizes of black cloaks, some of which didn't even seem human, rolling in the sand, two others on their knees from laughter, and a last one looking at them with a glare that would terrify a sea king.

"OH, THAT'S TOO RICH!" Luffy gasped, pounding his fist in the sand and sending a small dune unintentionally in Zoro's direction with each pound. His glare subsequently became so scary that any sane human would suddenly find themselves capable of running on water to get away from him. Very slowly, the swordsman stepped forward and wrapped his hands around Chopper's neck. The reindeer's face didn't get much bluer, but his smile quickly faded.

"Z-Zoro, stop it!" Usopp snapped, shaking off his laughter and looking at Zoro without a trace of fear. The swordsman blinked, and loosened his grasp. Usopp sighed and shook his head as the others slowly subsided in laughing, and started walking towards the village, the others behind him.

"All right, that was funny enough that I probably could have spent the afternoon laughing, but I'm not sure I'd be able to live with myself if I wasted this chance to save my mother because Chopper was out cold."

A few of the crew looked accusingly at Zoro, who only frowned. Chopper spoke up before he could.

"N-no, it's my fault. I got so exasperated with Zoro going the wrong way with what's on the line that it slipped out. I'm sorry," the doctor said timidly. Zoro sighed.

"Forget it, Chopper. I'll work off my frustration when we get to Ohara…or whichever place is going to have fighting next. Who have we got left again?" he asked.

"You, me, Brook, Jinbe, and whatever Sanji decides," Robin replied. "Besides Ohara, we'll also be fighting the Marines when we go back for Jinbe. Brook, will there be fighting on your turn?"

Brook took a minute to reply.

"It's hard to say. If we're going back to the time we were ambushed, then there certainly will be. But on the other hand, we could be going back to when Captain Yorki was infected with the Kestia."

"Hey, Sanji, you made up your mind yet?" Luffy asked.

"Working on it, Luffy. I'm leaning towards saving Corazon, so that would have plenty of fighting, but I'm not sure about giving up on all of the others," Sanji said, somewhat irritably.

Nobody replied, and the conversation subsided as they drew nearer to the only settlement on the island.

* * *

Syrup Village was a quiet place. There were few people out and about on this ordinary day. One notable exception was a young boy with a long nose, who was running through the village towards his house, where his mother lay ill. He hoped that the plan that he had come up with would help her out. It had to; she had to get better. It would have to work! It would work!

"PIRATES ARE HERE!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"PIRATES ARE HERE! PIRATES ARE HERE!" he repeated, running the full length of the village until he reached his house, opening the door and running towards where his mother lay ill, ignoring the doctors as they tried to discourage him from shouting.

"Mom, we're saved! Dad finally came back for us!"

The pale, dark-haired, long-nosed woman lying in the bed managed a small smile.

"There you go with your wild imagination again. Silly boy," she said softly.

"It's true! He always said he'd come back for us and take us with him when you got better, didn't he, Mom?!" the boy demanded.

"Usopp, my dear, your father won't be coming back. But…I'm proud I married such a brave man who dared to chase his dream," the woman said, turning her eyes to look out the window. Usopp did his best to mask his panic, and changed tactics, putting his hands on the bed as he leaned closer to his mother.

"I heard about a special medicine! This stuff can cure any sickness!"

Banchina looked back at him, the same small smile on her face.

"So silly. You dream too much."

Usopp's already fragile resolve was shattered at that moment, and tears surged down his face as he spoke.

"I am a dreamer! And I'm silly! It's true! I'm proud of it, after all, I'm the son of a pirate!"

"Promise me one thing," Banchina said softly. "Promise me you'll grow up to be brave, like him."

Usopp had no opportunity to respond to that, however, as the door slammed open behind him. He had only started to turn and look back before he found himself being pushed none-too-gently aside from the bed where his mother lay by a figure that was no bigger than he was, every inch of his body covered in black garments. He was shocked for a minute before he noticed that the other two doctors in the room were currently being held at swordpoint by another black figure. He spoke, and Usopp shivered at the power in his voice.

"Neither of you move. Our doctor is here to cure Banchina, and we don't have time to waste stopping you from interfering."

The only reason Usopp wasn't sweating bullets was that the man had said that they were there to cure his mother. He looked back at the small figure beside him, and saw him mixing a few chemicals together before they solidified into a small yellow pill. Carefully, he picked it up and moved it to the woman's mouth, her smile gone and her expression curious.

"Bite down on this, and swallow all of it," he said in a very childlike voice. Banchina blinked, but the firmness in the voice gave her no will to disobey. She opened her mouth and allowed the doctor to fit in the pill, and with a bit of effort, broke it. The taste of it was bitter, but she worked to swallow all of the pieces in her mouth. Her face contorted, and one of the other black figures—Usopp could see that there were ten of them, a couple of them still standing outside—moved forward to stand beside him and the doctor.

"Chopper, is it working?" he asked. Usopp looked up in shock as he heard the voice. It couldn't be.

The doctor had no chance to respond, however, as Banchina sat up as well, a look on her face of pure shock.

"…Yasopp?" she asked, in no more than a whisper.

"Does that answer your question?" the small figure asked dryly.

"…Since when do you speak sarcasm?" the swordsman asked as he sheathed his blades, much to the relief of the other two doctors.

"Robin's a good teacher," Chopper replied, prompting a chuckle from one of the figures, a female. Usopp shook that off, and looked back at the tall figure beside him.

"Dad, is that you?"

The figure raised his hands and slowly removed his hood. The man underneath was young and fit, black hair growing similarly to an afro beneath a white hat, and he wore a pair of orange ear protectors. But what stood out most to Usopp was the nose, unusually long just like his own and his mother's.

"No, I'm not Yasopp. I'm Usopp."

The man was staring at Banchina with tears in his eyes and a smile on his face, while young Usopp just looked at him strangely.

"What are you talking about? I'M Usopp. You're a liar!"

For some reason, that set all of the figures, including the so-called Usopp, into gales of laughter. Banchina, however, slowly rose to her feet, the illness that was in her body almost completely faded.

"…Are you really Usopp?" she asked softly.

The laughter subsided, and the man looked back at her.

"Yes, Mom, it's me. Eight years from now, I joined up with a pirate crew that would go on to become the crew of Gold Roger's successors. An old man that we met about eleven years from now gave us the power to go back in time and save someone that we lost before. The Pirate King's crew, naturally, has the world's greatest doctor onboard. He discovered the secret of the Panacea, a special medicine capable of curing any sickness. And now…you're all better. You're not going to die," he said, choking up as he finished.

Banchina stared at the man for only a second before she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. The older man broke down crying as he returned the hug, holding his mother tightly as if he'd never let her go. The two doctors were dumbfounded, the other figures in black watched with apparent admiration, and the young Usopp struggled past the oddness of the situation to focus on his own joy: his mother was better. He wrapped his own arms around her legs, unable to reach any higher.

It was a few minutes before they finally stepped apart, and Banchina looked at the older version of her son with a beaming smile.

"So, you kept your promise, then."

"Of course! I've become a brave warrior of the sea just like dad, and the greatest sniper in the world," Usopp boasted.

"Awesome! So, who else is on my crew?" younger Usopp asked.

At that, the remaining figures lowered their hoods in unison.

"Roronoa Zoro, the world's greatest swordsman," older Usopp said, gesturing to the swordsman, who was revealed to have short green hair, a scar over his right eye which remained closed, and a smile that was almost feral.

"Nami, the world's greatest navigator, meteorologist, and cartographer," older Usopp said, referring to a young woman with long orange hair and a kind smile.

"Sanji, the world's greatest chef and master of the Black Leg fighting style," he said, pointing to a man with blonde hair that covered his right eye, a small goatee, and a very curly eyebrow.

"Tony Tony Chopper, a reindeer that ate the Human-Human Devil Fruit and the world's greatest doctor," he said, nodding to the figure that had cured Banchina. He looked like a raccoon-dog with a blue nose, but younger Usopp could see antlers poking out from beneath his pink and blue hats.

"Nico Robin, the world's greatest archaeologist," he said, pointing to a woman with long black hair and a small smile.

"Franky, the world's greatest shipwright and the most _super_ guy you'll ever meet."

"You got that right!" said one of the figures outside, pounding the ground with oversized arms before standing in an odd pose. His face had a metal nose and a chin with three points, and his hair was in a blue buzz cut.

"Brook, a skeleton brought back to life by the Revive-Revive Fruit, the world's greatest musician."

"Young Usopp, and Usopp's mother…Banchina, I believe. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance," said the figure in question, fully a skeleton aside from a black afro. Usopp gulped, and Banchina seemed a bit uncomfortable, but his mannerisms reassured them as he bowed theatrically.

"Jinbe, a whale-shark fishman formerly of the Seven Warlords of the Sea," Usopp continued, gesturing to a figure with a blue face and large fangs, looking at them with a smile.

"And saving the best for last, Monkey D. Luffy, King of the Pirates," Usopp said, bowing towards a man about his age with black hair, a scar under one eye, and a D-shaped grin.

"Yasopp joined Red-Haired Shanks' crew. They stayed at my home island around this time, and he never stopped talking about you, Usopp!" Luffy said.

Younger Usopp beamed, blushing at the same time.

"Tell me more! Tell me all about my adventures!"

* * *

The black figures around Banchina's house drew attention relatively quickly. And as some of the villagers learned of the situation behind Banchina's miraculous recovery, more and more of them began flocking to the house and seeing the strange crew that claimed to be the future Pirate King's crew. Stories spread, the group spread out, and before anyone knew it, the Straw Hats had thrown another full-blown party.

Brook, Franky, and Luffy found themselves in the center of the festivities, showing off for everyone and leaving many gasping for breath from laughter. Chopper only refrained from joining them due to the two doctors that had witnessed his work. They found themselves unbothered by taking advice from a young human-animal hybrid to perfect their skills when they discovered that his knowledge of medicine was as vast as an ocean compared to their lakes; in a few minutes, they had enough information to make Syrup Village the East Blue's center on medical knowledge by the time that Luffy was due to arrive.

Sanji's spontaneous feast, once again prepared with the absurd speed that Franky often utilized in his work, seemed to drive the questions of the absurdity of the pirates' appearance and works from everyone's mind. He handed off a handful of recipes to the proprietor of the sole restaurant on the island, while everyone else simply allowed themselves to be swept away with the absurdly good food.

Nami joined Robin this time in relating the various tales of their adventures, and although (or perhaps because) she lacked Usopp's over-the-top, melodramatic flair, she managed to gather quite the crowd. Zoro and Jinbe joined them after a short while, adding their own comments and, perhaps due to the seriousness and formidability of their appearances, drew a much larger crowd as the words went on, including Usopp's younger self; in addition to hearing more about his future adventures, he was eager to get to know his future family.

Usopp, meanwhile, joined said present family a short ways away, the rest of the village and crew respectfully offering their space as they had with Nami and her mother. Banchina's pride in her son was as plain on her face as the sun in the sky, and it could only grow stronger as he told her of all that they'd gone through.

"…Then, thanks to that one act of bravery, my bounty shot up to 200,000,000 berries, and Franky was after me for weeks because he hadn't broken 100,000,000 yet. And after sailing for a while, and realizing just how much we took Nami for granted, we came to an island that was a giant elephant!" he said.

Banchina laughed, at least for the hundredth time since her son began telling his stories; she was so tempted to call them tall tales, but the living proof sat before her. Even so…

"I think that's enough, Usopp. If you keep telling me about all this danger, I might be tempted to make you stay home," she said, smiling at him.

"What? Mom, you always wanted me to follow in Dad's footsteps, and you're looking at proof that I did it! It took a while, but I made it, and that's why I could come back here and save you!" Usopp protested, though the smile on his face gave the impression that he didn't take the threat seriously.

"I know, Usopp. And I can't tell you how proud I am of you and your crew. But hearing about all of these impossible things as facts, things that you've witnessed on your adventures…"

She sighed, and shook her head again, smiling wistfully.

"But what am I talking about? You're your father's son, even I couldn't stop you from going out to sea."

"But I'll come back this time, Mom. I promise you that this time, I'll come back after I leave, just like I came back to Kaya in my time."

Banchina smiled warmly, and then blinked before chuckling at something she saw over her shoulder.

"Speaking of Kaya…" she said.

Usopp turned, and he was caught between the urge to laugh and blush as he saw the owners of the mansion entering the festivities, and their daughter standing before his younger self. Evidently, the rest of the crew noticed as well, as many of them were smirking at their crewmate. Usopp glanced back at his mother, who gestured for him to go on, before he approached young Kaya and young Usopp.

"How's it going, you two?"

Both looked up at him.

"Hi, older me! This is Kaya! She lives in the mansion up on the hill!"

"I know. I'm you, remember?" Usopp asked. Young Usopp chuckled sheepishly.

"Yeah, you're right. Anyway, Kaya's parents came down to see what the party was about, and they left her to talk to someone her own age."

Usopp smiled, noticing the confused look on the girl's face.

"Well, why don't you tell her about what's going on? I think she could use an explanation, and I know you're a good storyteller."

Young Usopp beamed, and quickly began rattling off the story to Kaya. Usopp did not stick around to watch their interaction, however; the idea of doing more than just saving his mother had come to his mind almost as soon as the old man agreed to let them save Merry as well. And so it was that he approached the master of the mansion, his face as serious as death.

"Sir, I need to talk to you for a minute."

The gentleman looked at him with mild surprise, but consented to be led away from others who could hear. Usopp spoke softly, but the gravity of his tone left no room for questioning if he was serious.

"Five years from now, the infamous pirate Kuro of 100 Plans will fake his own death in an attempt to retire peacefully. He will send a stand-in to be executed while he journeys to this island. He'll introduce himself as Klahadore, and claim that the people on the ship he worked on were brutal, and back it up with how bad he looks. In my time, you hired him as your butler, and he maintained a façade of perfect servitude from then on…but as if he never stopped wearing his cat claws, he always pushed up the glasses he wore like this."

Usopp raised his hand to demonstrate, the heel of his palm against his cheek while his fingers pointed away from him. He lowered his hand before he continued.

"You and your wife died of natural causes two years later, leaving your daughter alone, and a year later, Kuro planned to kill her after forcing her to write her will with him as the sole beneficiary. He only failed thanks to my captain's crew—then consisting of himself, Zoro, and Nami—coming to the island the day before he was due to finish the plan. I'm not sure what to tell you to do, but I know that until that day, he's not going to have his cat claws. But he still has superhuman speed; you wouldn't be a match for him.

"I just want to make sure that you, your family, and this village stay safe; for all I know, my crew coming here could alter the timeline enough that my warning doesn't matter. But if these things do still happen, make sure that Kuro never has a chance to hurt anyone."

The gentleman stared at the young pirate for several seconds; he had heard that the pirates were from the future, but to hear a warning like this…

"…If things happen the way that you have described them, I will take all necessary precautions against him," the man said at last. Usopp nodded gratefully, and then turned away.

"Wait, young man."

Usopp turned back, to see the man smiling a bit dangerously, looking in the direction of young Usopp and Kaya, who were laughing together.

"Are you involved with my daughter?"

Usopp sweated, and chuckled nervously.

"Heh…after you and your wife died, Kaya literally worried herself sick every day. I heard about it, and started visiting her and telling her tall tales to try to cheer her up. It always worked, and we became friends. _Just_ friends; we were never anything more before I left the island to join the Straw Hat Pirates."

"And after that? You came back to the island at some point, I'm guessing."

Usopp smiled nervously.

"I'm slowly working up the courage to ask her out."

The man seemed to relax, and gave him a warmer smile.

"I'll keep an eye on your younger self to make sure he doesn't do anything out of line…but you can consider yourself to have my blessing."

Usopp beamed and bowed.

"Usopp! We've only got about two minutes left!" Nami called. Usopp straightened hastily.

"Thank you, sir," he said, and then ran back to his mother, who was watching him with a somewhat amused look.

"I didn't think I'd have to see my son fretting over a father's approval for his daughter's hand in marriage for another decade," she chuckled.

"Hey, I was warning him about Kuro!"

Banchina's smile didn't falter, and Usopp sighed.

"…And after that, the conversation turned to Kaya."

"No matter how good of a liar you become, Usopp, I'll always be able to tell the difference," Banchina said, and the fondness in her tone was such that Usopp embraced her again, tears coming to his eyes.

"I…I wish I could have spent more time with you, Mom. I'm sorry that I can't stay longer."

"…Usopp, look at me."

Reluctantly, Usopp pulled back, and looked at his mother's smiling face.

"You've saved my life. You've saved your younger self from growing up an orphan. You've saved a girl from having her heart broken. You've probably saved her from losing her parents, too. And you've shown me that my son will grow up to become a brave warrior of the sea just like his father. I couldn't be more proud of you, my son."

Usopp's tears flowed down his face, and he smiled with all the strength he could manage.

"Th-thanks, Mom. That means everything to me."

She beamed back, but her smile contorted in shock for a moment before a more mischievous look came on her face.

"Oh, and by the way, is Yasopp still around in your time?"

"Y-yeah, of course," Usopp said. Banchina leaned forward and whispered something to him. Usopp seemed confused, but Banchina smirked at him.

"Tell your father that I said that. I think you'll enjoy seeing the look on his face."

Usopp nodded, and at that moment, he began to shine, and the rest of the crew gathered around him. Usopp hugged his mother one last time.

"I'll keep making you proud, Mom, every day," Usopp promised.

"I know you will," Banchina replied. Young Usopp and Kaya came to stand beside them, and Usopp looked down at himself.

"You've got eight years, Usopp. Make the most of it: train your body and your marksmanship, and be ready to join the crew of the next Pirate King when they come to this island. Make sure that someday, you'll be able to see me when you look in the mirror."

"I promise! I'll make you proud, older me!" young Usopp said.

Ten smiles answered this reply. Then the light winked out, taking the pirates with it.

 **First of all, kudos and thanks to my beta readers, lunanime and Monkey D. Funky.**

 **Second of all…any ideas as to what Banchina said? MAYBE you'll find out in the epilogue…or maybe not.**

 **Anyway, moving on to a matter of more importance. I'm sure that many of my readers have read the recent chapters, and I know that there are several rumors, theories, and speculations circling about at the present time as a result of the end of Chapter 801. As a result of that, a couple of people have asked that I hold off on Sanji's intervention for a while until we find out what that's about. This is not my choice, however. I'm adding another option to the poll now, for which you whom have already voted may offer your opinions as well: putting off Sanji's intervention until the time comes that the truth behind Chapter 801's announcement becomes known. Personally, however, I don't expect that such a thing is going to happen until the end, or at the earliest the middle, of the coming arc, which may well be another year. So, my plan at present is this: if by the time I publish the chapter after the next one Corazon still has the majority of the votes, I will proceed with the plan of writing out the intervention for saving him. If another option overtakes it, however, I'll go back to my previous plan of having Sanji's turn come last, and publish whatever comes up. In any case, however, if the canon eventually reveals someone in Sanji's past that he would want to save, and I have published Corazon or someone else as a chapter by that time, that chapter will be moved to become a bonus chapter, and the story will be edited to fit with canon.**

 **All right, now that that's out of the way, Zoro's turn will be next, and his story should be published significantly faster than this chapter; I wrote out a (VERY) rough draft of his intervention back when I was still trying to help Blueh continue his story, so I've got much more to go off of from here. But as life has its difficulties, I cannot promise much in the degree of time, and so I leave you as always with these words: Patience is a virtue.**


	9. Shimotsuki Village

**I can blame midterms, I can blame my new job, I can blame other obligations, and I can blame fluctuating inspiration. You'd think it would be** ** _easier_** **to write a chapter when you've already got a rough draft to go off of, not** ** _harder._** ***Shrugs.* My way of writing is strange, I suppose. But whatever the reason, the wait is finally over.**

The Straw Hats once again found themselves in a peaceful, mild, and sunny climate as the light faded. Rather than a town or beach, however, they found themselves surrounded by trees. Nami rolled her eyes.

"Are we going to have to do another Haki search?" she groused.

"I doubt it, Nami; at this point, we can simply narrow it down by process of elimination. I can tell that this isn't Ohara, the trees are different. Brook, is there any reason we'd be dropped in a forest for your crew?" Robin asked.

"Hmm…actually, now that you mention it, we may be on Little Garden," Brook replied.

"No way, we'd know if Dorry and Brogy were nearby," Luffy interrupted.

"Foolshout Island has a desert climate, so unless Sanji has made up his mind—" Jinbe began.

"No, it's definitely my turn," Zoro said with a smile. "These woods were my backyard while I trained at the Isshin dojo, I'd recognize them anywhere."

Without another word, Zoro began walking away from them in a seemingly random direction.

"Hey, Mosshead! You shouldn't be going alone, you might need help!"

Zoro gave Sanji a look that seemed not so much angry as 'you cannot be serious.'

"All I have to do is keep her from falling down the stairs. Even you have to admit that I wouldn't screw that up."

It took every ounce of control that Sanji possessed not to issue more of his habitual insults to Zoro. He'd never admit it, but with how important this was to the mosshead, he was willing to hold himself back…somewhat.

Or it may have just been that they were there to save a young lady.

"Idiot, of course I do. But what if you get lost on the way there? The old man said that he'll probably be gone when we get back, you won't get another chance to save her if you screw this up."

Zoro rolled his eye.

"I lived here for over ten years, cook. I'm more likely to get lost on the Sunny than in these woods. Besides, this is between Kuina and I; I don't want anyone else there until I've had my say. Now, I'm going before I miss my chance. You guys wait to follow me; I'll introduce you after."

With no further ado, Zoro Shaved in the same direction he'd been heading before. Some of the other Straw Hats made noises of exasperation, but none of them moved to follow him; it was his intervention, and he had every right to control how it went.

"All right, so what do we do while we wait? Anyone want to see more of the place where Zoro grew up?" Luffy asked.

"I think that Zoro would rather keep this as quiet as possible, and you're not exactly good at being inconspicuous," Usopp replied, shaking his head.

"On the other hand, the rest of us aren't exactly inconspicuous either, with how we're dressed," Sanji said. "If someone found us here, they'd probably raise an alarm if we didn't stop them."

"True, but all of the previous jumps have brought us to deserted areas; I doubt that that would change now," Robin said.

"It's deserted now, but it won't be for much longer," Chopper said, his head raised and his nostrils flaring.

The message was clear, and Haki allowed the rest of the crew to see that someone was coming. They had more than enough time to flee…but the familiarity of the aura simply sparked too much curiosity for them to not stay behind. Sure enough, a boy emerged into the clearing a moment later. He had muscles that were massive for his age, a bamboo sword in each hand, green hair, and a small frown on his face, which only grew more menacing as he saw the cloaked strangers.

"Who are you?" he demanded, getting into a stance with his swords.

"…He thinks he can beat us with _bamboo swords_?" Usopp asked.

"Remember who we're talking about here, Usopp," Robin replied quietly, and then spoke to the boy.

"We're just travelers, exploring this island. We'll only be here for about an hour."

"Travelers?" the boy asked, barely faltering.

"One of our crewmates has a friend at the…I believe he said Isshin dojo? We're just stopping to allow him a brief visit," Brook said carefully.

"Who? Who's he here to see?" Zoro asked.

"I think he said her name was Kuina. He—ah…" Chopper trailed off as the younger Zoro ran off without so much as another glance at the strangers.

"…What was that about?" Jinbe asked.

"I'm not surprised," Nami said. "Kuina can't be much older than Zoro is now, and he looked pretty young. What adult from another island would have made friends with Kuina with him not knowing about it? It does sound pretty farfetched."

"So, he thinks that we're here to hurt her?" Chopper asked.

Sanji sighed.

"Come on, guys, we'd better make sure that the pint-sized mosshead doesn't make a huge uproar about this."

They exchanged looks, but all of them knew that that was a likely event, and one second later the clearing was empty.

* * *

 _You're telling me all of this after you beat me?! That's not fair! My ambition is to be like you! If I ever beat you, it will be because of my own strength! Promise me! One day, either you or I will become the best swordsman in the world!_

The blue-haired girl sat on the top of a foot of stairs, deep in thought about the vow she had sworn the previous night. Zoro…the way he said it, it had broken her out of her depression. The fact that even her father had told her that she was unable to become the greatest swordsman in the world because of her gender had shaken her too much. But Zoro…Zoro, who at this point was as familiar with her skills as her father was, didn't think that had anything to do with it.

She looked over to the sword nearby, her most prized possession, and picked it up. Silently, she repeated the words to herself: being a girl didn't matter. If she kept up her training, she _would_ one day be the best. And it would go faster with a real sword; Zoro had been easy to beat, unused to the weight, but it had been too long since she picked up her own sword; she was starting to get tired too when she brought it back.

She unsheathed the sword, and looked it over carefully. It was a beautiful blade…but she hadn't touched it in too long. Better to get it back in perfect shape before training with it. First was to sharpen it. She sheathed the sword before getting up and running down the stairs.

She barely made two steps before her foot missed one, and she began to fall. Her heart accelerated as her mind realized the situation, and saw how far she was from the bottom. She closed her eyes as they filled with tears.

 _So much for being the greatest swordsman…Zoro will probably think I'm a coward for leaving like this as soon as we made our promise._

She had just enough time to think these thoughts as she neared the ground. But rather than a sharp impact on the wood, an arm that felt more like a barbell pressed against her in midair, holding her to a body that was a few times tougher than the toughest training dummies they had. She felt a jolt, and then opened her eyes.

What she saw was a figure in black, his garments obscuring his entire form. The arm holding her to his very muscular body slackened, and she dropped to the ground ungracefully. Rubbing the areas that were now sore from the much less deadly fall, she looked up at the stranger with an expression partly of apprehension, partly of resentment, but mostly of curiosity.

"You should be more careful coming down the stairs. You would have been killed if I wasn't here to catch you," he said. Kuina shivered at the voice; if blatantly stating that she would have died without him there wasn't bad enough, the harshness in his tone was so scary that she was tempted to run to her father. But she was stronger than that.

"…Thanks for saving me. But who are you?" she managed.

"Someone who wants to be sure that you could keep the promise you made last night," he replied.

Kuina's eyes widened, and she got to her feet immediately, forcing down her fear of the man.

"How do you know about that?! Nobody but Zoro and I were there!"

A nearby screen door opened before the taller figure could reply, and she saw her would-be rival rushing in, bamboo swords in hand. He took in the situation before him, and then glared at the figure.

"What do you want with Kuina?" Zoro demanded.

There was a silence for a moment, Kuina looking between the two.

"Zoro, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I ran into a bunch of people dressed in black in the woods saying that they were travelers, and one of them was here to see you. Seriously, they expected me to believe that? What kinds of travelers would dress in all black in the middle of the summer?"

Kuina frowned, and looked back at the intimidating stranger. He didn't seem to be paying much attention to either of them, however, and was looking out the doorway, where nobody was visible.

"What exactly possessed you idiots to tell him what I was doing here?"

A second later, nine more cloaked figures appeared in the room, the shock of which was enough to knock Zoro and Kuina off of their feet.

"He ran into us back where you left us. We didn't tell him anything beyond that one of our friends was looking for a friend here at the dojo, up until Chopper said that it was Kuina," said a female voice. The smallest cloaked figure promptly hid behind the speaker as the one closest to Kuina looked in that general direction, presumably glaring.

"But what does it matter? You were planning on showing yourself to both of them anyway, right?"

At that point, Zoro and Kuina couldn't take it anymore.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" they screamed in unison. Everyone seemed to stare for a few moments as Zoro and Kuina exchanged glances, blushing a bit at speaking in unison. The figure near them sighed, and opened his robe at the waist, where he had three swords strapped. Two were unfamiliar, but the third was a white blade that Kuina recognized in a heartbeat.

"Hey, that's my sword! Give it back!" Kuina snapped.

"Really? It looks to me like you're still holding your sword," the figure said, his tone somewhere between dry and amused.

Kuina blushed scarlet as she noticed that she was, indeed, still holding her treasured sword, sheath and all. Zoro only mostly succeeded in fighting down a laugh, earning a glare from the girl. Then she looked back at the stranger.

"OK, so I still have my sword. But that _is_ the Wado Ichimonji, I'd recognize it anywhere. How do you have the same sword that I do?"

"Simple. I'm from the future."

The two kids blinked.

"A future where I've used this sword," he continued, drawing the blade to remove any doubt that it was the same as Kuina's, "to obtain the title, 'world's greatest swordsman.'"

The two children stiffened. Kuina felt all the fear she held of the figure return and multiply, while Zoro was beginning to sweat.

"Wh-why are you here?"

The figure pointed at Kuina.

"To save your life."

Both of the children stared at him in confusion.

"In my time, you died today by falling down those stairs. Zoro was furious at you running away from the promise you made, but vowed that since you couldn't keep it, he would. He studied swordsmanship until he turned 18, creating the Three Sword Style, and then left the island to seek out the greatest swordsman in the world of this time, Dracule 'Hawk-Eye' Mihawk. He took up bounty hunting to pay for his meals, and a year later he wound up at a Marine base headed by Captain 'Axe-Hand' Morgan, a corrupt tyrant. To save a little girl from being killed, he killed Morgan's spoiled son's pet wolf, and accepted a sentence of being tied up for a month without food. Ten days later, a man came to the island and heard that Morgan's son was going to execute him anyway, just for kicks. That man saved him, and having made an enemy of the Marines, Zoro agreed to join that man's pirate crew. Three years later, that man, Monkey D. Luffy, became the pirate king, and Zoro achieved his life's ambition of becoming the greatest swordsman in the world."

The figure paused long enough to remove his hood, revealing a young man with green hair and a serious expression. His right eye was closed with a scar over it, and his left was staring at Kuina. She and Zoro both looked at the older Zoro with thunderstruck expressions.

"It's too early for you to die, Kuina. You're strong, and though you still have a long way to go, I'm here to tell you that you have the potential that you need. Hone your skills, and never give up. If I can become the greatest swordsman, then so can you. So, will you do it?"

Kuina was stunned. Time travel was confusing enough already, but to hear from the future version of your would-be rival that you had died, and he had gone on to become what her goal would have been? And after all of that…he came back, just to make sure that she had a chance to reach that goal? She looked in his single eye, and she was shocked; there was something like pleading in his expression. Did he want her to surpass him that badly?

…No. He wanted her to keep the promise that they made, that she had never had the chance to before. Her eyes hardened, and she bowed low.

"I will."

The man grinned, and his younger self looked up at him.

"…And what about me?"

"Well, you're looking at the proof now that you can become the world's greatest swordsman. When one of you manages to beat Mihawk, I guess you'll see which of you is better."

Younger Zoro smirked.

"I guess I'll have to triple my training," he said.

Zoro grinned again.

"Geez, he _was_ always like this. Though I guess seeing the source of it all, I can't blame him," said one of the figures in black, reminding the three swordsmen of their presence. Kuina spoke again.

"So, based on your story, these guys are the Pirate King and the rest of his crew?"

Zoro nodded, and the figures removed their hoods in unison. One of them was revealed to be a smiling young man with black hair and a scar under one eye.

"Monkey D. Luffy, King of the Pirates! Nice to meet you," he said.

"…Him?" young Zoro asked dryly, provoking a few chuckles.

"Don't judge from appearances, kid; Luffy could even beat your older self, though I guess it wouldn't be easy," said another young man with blonde hair covering one eye, and a very curly eyebrow.

"Cheeky cook, like you'd do any better," Zoro muttered, and then gestured to the other figures in turn, introducing them shortly.

"Nami, the navigator; Usopp, the sniper; Chopper, the doctor; Robin, the archaeologist; Franky, the shipwright; Brook, the musician who came back to life with his Revive-Revive Fruit powers; and Jinbe, the martial arts expert. Oh, and the stupid cook."

"Zoro, don't set a bad example for yourself. His name is Sanji, and he's almost as strong as you," Robin said, addressing the younger Zoro. That bit of news had the two younger swordsmen looking at Sanji with astonishment, to Zoro's irritation.

"Wow. But you don't look like a swordsman," Kuina said. Sanji chuckled.

"Of course not, a chef's hands are his life. I had some fighting lessons from Red Leg Zeff, captain of the Cook Pirates, and I developed that into the Black Leg fighting style."

"…You can fend off swords with your _feet_?" younger Zoro asked.

"There are plenty of techniques that can let you do that. To quote a certain swordsman, 'you have no idea how big the world really is,'" Sanji said with a grin.

"And on that subject," older Zoro cut in, looking back at the two kids, "my crew and I can't stay here for long, but I plan to make the most of the time I've got."

Young Zoro and Kuina looked attentively at the swordsman, wondering if he meant what they thought he did.

"The road to becoming the world's greatest swordsman is harder than anything you could imagine. Keeping up all of the training you're doing now wouldn't be enough to make you more than the best in East Blue. I found that out the hard way a little while after I joined Luffy's crew, when I met Mihawk at the Baratie."

Zoro fumbled with his outfit for a moment, and then removed the robe enough to expose his bare torso, and younger Zoro and Kuina stiffened as they saw the massive scar.

"He defended against every attack I made with a blade no bigger than a table knife, and beat me without any effort. The only reason I lived to tell about it is that my ambition was enough to earn his respect…which is why he used his regular sword to finish me. This wound should have killed me. It would kill a normal person. But to be the greatest swordsman, you cannot be normal."

He released his hold on the robe, which glided smoothly and quickly back into place. He frowned for a moment at the material, and then looked at them with a downright bestial grin.

"I've got about forty-five minutes before I leave. So, what do you think about a private lesson from the world's greatest swordsman?"

Kuina and younger Zoro seemed to have stars in their eyes as they nodded.

* * *

Before the two of them could do more than nod, they found themselves moving at impossible speeds. The next thing they knew, they were at the coast of the island, facing out towards the sea. After spending a few seconds regaining their bearings, they looked at the crew.

"OK, what the heck was that?" younger Zoro asked.

"It's part of a series of martial arts techniques called the Six Powers. We've never bothered to learn all of them, but we're all capable of using the Shave technique. Kicking the ground ten times in a second lets you move so fast it looks like you disappeared."

"Ten times a _second_?" the two of them demanded.

Most of the crew chuckled, much to their annoyance.

"You need to have that kind of power just to be able to survive the Grand Line, let alone reach the end of it. Let me give you a demonstration," Zoro said, once again drawing the Wado Ichimonji.

He walked to the edge of the water, raised the blade, and then brought it down in a simple strike. The resulting shockwave created a trench in the ocean a foot wide and long enough that it was completely out of sight. For the barest instant, the ocean was frozen. Then it surged to fill the gap that was left, and water erupted along the path of the cut. It was a full minute before the ocean was calm again. Zoro turned back to his younger self and Kuina. Both of their jaws were on the ground.

"The first thing you need to know to become the greatest is one simple fact about your limits for how much stronger you can grow: _they don't exist_. I've seen more impossible things in the three years since I joined Luffy than you two have ever even imagined."

The two of them slowly picked up their jaws, and stared at him attentively.

For the next forty minutes, younger Zoro and Kuina had their outlooks on reality repeatedly shattered, despite Zoro's warning. If watching him perform ridiculously powerful swordplay with three swords—holding one in his mouth—wasn't bad enough, from cutting steel to creating razor-sharp tornados, they also learned of the strange power called Haki.

The older swordsman had closed his eye and told both of them to attack as much as they could. They did, Kuina even using the Wado rather than a bamboo sword, and they were incapable of even touching his clothes. And then there was Armament Haki, if Observation wasn't shocking enough. They watched as Zoro turned his blades and even his flesh into obsidian, explaining that it was a suit of armor created by one's will, increasing offense and defense. The astonished young swordsmen managed to ask if there were any more forms of it.

"There's one more, but unlike those two, not everyone can do it," the Pirate King had said, stepping towards them.

"It's called Conqueror's Haki. Only one in a million people have it."

"So, what does it do?" Kuina asked.

"Basically, it lets you overpower weaker opponents without lifting a finger. It's a battle of wills; if your will isn't strong enough, you'll pass out, but if it is, you'll be able to brush off the effects," Zoro said.

Zoro and Kuina exchanged looks, and their eyes hardened.

"Try it on us," they said.

All of the crew looked at them in concern.

"If we don't have enough willpower now to become what we need to become, then at least let us know how far we have to go," younger Zoro said.

Luffy looked at Zoro, who nodded after a minute.

"All right, but I'm only using a controlled blast; if I go all out, I don't think you'll be able to stay conscious, and that would make you miss out on the rest of the training."

With that, Luffy unleashed his power. Kuina and younger Zoro both fell to their knees, sweating bullets and looking at him with blank eyes and expressions stricken with terror. Luffy stopped the next moment, and Zoro looked at the two young swordsmen. It was about a minute before they regained enough consciousness to look at Zoro.

"That's only a taste of it. But don't let it bother you too much if you never reach that level; Luffy has always been crazier than me."

That provoked a few chuckles from the crew. Then the training resumed. After showing them several more attacks and helping them to memorize some of the principles of swordplay that he'd learned from both Mihawk and Koshiro, it got to a whole new level when Zoro asked some of the other members of the crew to spar with him.

Luffy went first, and after getting past the oddity of him being made of rubber due to the Gum-Gum Fruit, younger Zoro and Kuina watched with awe as the Pirate King managed to fend off Zoro's three sword style with only his body. Even so, Zoro was skilled enough to repel fists that moved so fast that younger Zoro and Kuina couldn't see them. They could feel the effects, though; each blow created a shockwave that made the trees bend as if they were in a tornado; if it hadn't been for Robin's powers providing a safety net for them, they would have been blown away, too.

The difference between that fight and when Zoro fought Sanji seemed negligible to the two children, aside from the differences in fighting style. When Sanji somehow managed to light his leg on fire, and fly, the two were even more astonished. Still, the two of them seemed to be completely on par with each other, and easily monsters in strength.

In the next spar, he took on the only other swordsman in the crew, the skeleton Brook. Kuina paid particular attention to the musician's one sword style…or tried to.

 _Seriously, are they ALL that fast?_ she found herself wondering furiously.

Somehow, they managed to take it in stride when Brook's attacks began creating ice and illusions in an attempt to get a hit in on Zoro. The older swordsman, however, parried every lightning-fast blow that he attempted; it was clear why he was the greatest. When it was all said and done, the swordsman looked at the two of them.

"Well?" he asked.

Younger Zoro and Kuina managed to break through their shock of everything that had happened, and they looked at him with determination.

"Like you said, it's proof enough that you're standing right in front of me. If I can manage to be that strong, then I will," younger Zoro said.

"And if he can do it, so can I. After all, Zoro has never beaten me yet," Kuina said, managing a smirk.

Zoro nodded, and then fixed Kuina with a leer. She gulped, wondering if she had offended him.

"Don't ever lose that mindset, Kuina. Never let your ambition falter just because you're a girl. You've got all the potential you need to be as strong as us. Heck, look at our navigator; she usually wins when she fights Luffy."

The two of them looked at Nami, and many of the crew laughed, including her.

"That's one way to put it, I guess," she chuckled. "But it's usually just him being stupid. Sure, he's strong enough to become the Pirate King, but if it comes to anything besides fighting and eating, he's a moron…and he's not the only one, either."

"…And this is your crew?" younger Zoro asked.

Zoro smiled.

"Sure, we all have our quirks…but they're my crew. We've been through too much together for me not to like them."

"Even me, Mosshead?" Sanji asked condescendingly.

"Yes, Swirls, even you, even if it's just that I like fighting you."

Sanji blinked, as did the rest of the crew; it wasn't like Zoro to show so much emotion. He read their faces effortlessly.

"Well, if I don't make it clear to these two that I have no regrets about becoming a Straw Hat Pirate, how can I expect them to follow an idiot like Luffy?"

The crew laughed again.

"Yeah, you've got a point there," Sanji admitted.

Zoro looked back to the two of them.

"You've seen the power that we all have; any one of us could take down an entire army, or destroy an entire island, on our own. But we've never been the kind to make the first strike, so don't misunderstand; this crew is about the nicest group of pirates you'll ever find."

That seemed to reassure the two of them, and younger Zoro spoke up.

"So…I'll meet Luffy nine years from now, then?"

"You should find him at a place called Shells Town, along with a pint-sized kid named Coby who became Fleet Admiral in our time," Zoro confirmed.

"…I'm sorry, could you say that again? I must have misheard you, because I thought you just said that the future Pirate King is travelling with the future Fleet Admiral," Kuina said.

The two young swordsmen found themselves a bit worried when dark looks came over all of the crew.

"I'll spare you the details, but let's just say that that stupid Axe-Hand Morgan is nothing compared to how corrupted some of the higher-ups in the Marines are. Coby's appointment was the best thing that happened to them in a few centuries."

Kuina and younger Zoro found their curiosity fading as they took in the looks on the crew's faces; one and all, they had the same almost haunted expression. After a minute, Zoro looked back at his young rival.

"Anyway…Kuina. It's your choice what you do, but going with Luffy is your best shot at becoming the world's greatest swordsman."

Kuina nodded without hesitation, and Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"Well, if joining that crew managed to get _you_ to this level of skill, I'm sure it can do the same for me," she said with a smirk. Younger Zoro glared at her, but older Zoro only chuckled.

"That's the kind of willpower I remember."

Younger Zoro stopped glaring as he remembered why his older self was here in the first place. He nodded to himself as he thought about the promise he made, and now that he knew that he had the potential, it seemed that one day, his current ambition of surpassing Kuina and his ultimate ambition of becoming the world's greatest swordsman would be one and the same.

He was broken out of these thoughts when the ten figures began to shine. Older Zoro gave a small sigh.

"Looks like our time's up. Kuina, I won't be able to save you a second time, so you'd better not let anything that small get in your way again. And both of you: I expect no less from you than the best," older Zoro said.

Kuina and Zoro bowed in unison.

"We will become the greatest!" they shouted.

Zoro and the rest of the crew smirked, and then with a flash, they were gone.

 **Phew, finished. Now, first of all, I'd like to say this: I'm half-expecting Zoro to have Conqueror's Haki due to his ambition, but the other half has doubts due to the numerous followers that we've seen all of the other Conquerors in the series, and the fact that Mihawk appears to be a lone wolf. With that said, I'm going to say that Zoro didn't demonstrate having Conqueror's Haki for one of two reasons: either he doesn't have it, or he didn't want to show it off in front of Kuina in case she doesn't have it.**

 **And yeah, that morbid comment Robin made about the outfits wasn't accurate; the old man would have had the sense to tell them THAT, at least, before they left. Still, I don't think anyone was willing to risk it up until then; Zoro seemed like the most likely person to not be afraid to try it out, and seeing that scar should be a good reminder for younger Zoro and Kuina as to just how much they have to do.**

 **…** **All right, this idea has been incubating in my mind for too long, so I suppose I'll go ahead and write it out right now: the details of the old man's Devil Fruit. Now, as a frame of reference, this is typically how my writing works: I have a somewhat vague idea in mind, I start typing, and the vague idea turns in minutes into a detailed paragraph or two or three or several. In a word, it's making something from nothing. And on that note…**

 **The Hoshi Hoshi no Mi is a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allows the user to create a projection of themselves or anything that they see. It appears in a burst of light, and vanishes in the same way. The closer the destination of the projection is to the source, the brighter the light of the projection will be, but it will become increasingly dark around the edges in relation to the distance. Its translated name is the Astral-Astral Fruit.**

 **The physical appearance of the fruit is a midnight blue carambola with white speckles all over its iconic swirl patterns.**

 **An amateur with the fruit's powers is capable of creating a mirror image of themselves or anything that they see, and projecting it at a distance of ten Hoshi Hoshis** **—**

 **NO. As much as I want to remain faithful to Oda's design, I'm not following that nonsense. As I was saying…**

 **They can project at a distance of ten** ** _meters_** **, without any trace of it not being real. As it moves beyond that, it begins to darken, and becomes increasingly difficult to make out the features thereof. Additionally, the projections draw somewhat on the user's energy, meaning that they can only last, regardless of how far or wide they go, according to the user's instructions. Initially, the projections are merely that, images of the original incapable of interacting with anything else beyond the sense of sight; even providing sound to the projection takes practice.**

 **As one becomes more skilled, however, the projections become solid, and the user's potential area of effect is increased, though even a master can only send it up to ten kilometers before the darkness sets in, and they gain the ability to control, somewhat, the darkness around the projections, shaping it into more presentable forms, such as only making it form around their clothes. Additionally, they can control how much light they send with the projection, enabling one to remove the light from the source to maximize the energy in its projection, rendering the source invisible. This is an advantage, as when the projections grow stronger, they draw on more of the physical traits and abilities of the sources, resulting in unconsciousness for objects or inexperienced users.**

 **Truly skilled users can project only parts of objects, creating amalgamations as projections, with all the power and potential of everything that they project, or even altering the form of their projections as they see fit. A weakness of the fruit is that the user must know exactly where they are sending the projection in order to send it, but using this skill allows for a greater range of sight when used right. With enough practice, one can even project their sense onto the memories of others that they see, taking the knowledge of locations or people to project to. They also gain the ability to make the projections autonomous in their time of existence; that is, they can pour all of the energy that they will need into the projections at the moment that they create them, removing the necessity of manually controlling when they cease to exist.**

 **Masters of the skill are capable of extending their projections beyond the reaches of space, and sending projections across time itself. As the consciousness projected must inevitably return to its source, this removes the capability of changing the past, though it will affect the time to which one is sent in another time and space. It is possible to return to this altered time and space if one focuses upon it, and for a true master of the fruit, with enough willpower, the projections can become the sources, and the sources projections, though in absence of an insanely powerful will, this can only apply for the user of the fruit.**

 **As stated above, all projections draw on power from their sources. If the user of the fruit projects other living beings, the user can draw on their energy to sustain the projections instead of or in conjunction with their own energy. This may result in unexpected exhaustion when the projections return to their bodies. Other than that, the user is also subject to standard Devil Fruit weaknesses.**

 **So, there we have it. Didn't take long to write that out. For those curious about the name, the basis of the story is astral projection, and the literal definition of astral is "of or relating to the stars." Hoshi, of course, is Japanese for "star." And as for the English name, I thought about calling it something else. But then I considered fruits like the Flower-Flower Fruit, to name one, and I found it acceptable as it is.**

 **Now, as for the rest, the poll remains heavily in Corazon's favor with 14 votes, while Otohime has 3, Skypiea has 2, and a couple of other options have 2 and 1 respectively. Now, I plan to give it at least a couple of weeks before I publish the next chapter; unlikely though I know it is, since the next chapter's publishing date is the deadline for the poll, I want to be sure that what will be, should be. But I will promise that I will update again before December, I'm sure I can manage that much.**

 **One more thing before I end this off: as I stated two chapters ago, after Franky's intervention, I have no intention of going off of the storylines created with the intervention of the Star-Star Fruit and forming them into complete stories, as I don't believe that I quite have the skill necessary to do so effectively. As I stated, I'd love for anyone to leave a review or send a PM offering to take on one of these concepts and do so. But now that I've published this chapter, I'd like to offer this particular storyline as a challenge. As stated previously, the Star-Star Fruit's powers create a different dimension as they go from one time to another…but Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Franky all met their future selves 8 years in the past, so there would be four members with future knowledge rather than one. Of all the storyline potentials I have created for this story, that one is easily the one I want to see expanded upon the most. I hope that someone is interested enough to take it.**

 **So, with that said, I hope that this satisfied you. As always, I give kudos to lunanime and Monkey D. Funky for helping me to perfect this. If you can spare the time, please review. And until next I update, may it never be forgotten that Patience is a virtue.**


	10. Foolshout Island

**All right, it took a while, and I'm cutting it close, but I wasn't about to break my word twice in one fic. At long last, here's the next chapter.**

The sight of a wasteland with oversized cacti growing out of the ground greeted the Straw Hats in the next location. A town was barely visible nearby.

"This is Foolshout Island," Jinbe said. He looked to the rest of the crew.

"All right, this is going to be a delicate situation, guys, especially considering that Arlong is on board the ship right now—"

"Hold it, Jinbe," Nami interrupted, drawing everyone's attention. She was grimacing, as if what she was about to say left a bad taste in her mouth.

"I could never forgive Arlong for what he did to my island…but this Arlong hasn't done that yet. Is he too far gone to listen to reason like Hody was?"

Many of the crew looked at her with astonishment, and none more than Jinbe. The fishman took a minute to answer the question.

"He's hardened, but it wasn't impossible until after they killed Big Bro. But are you actually saying that you want to give him a chance?"

"No. I want to fry him again so that he never gets the chance to hurt anyone else…but that would leave just as bad of an impression of humans on your crew as the one that we're here to stop. So the only other way I can see it is to change his view," Nami said bitterly.

Jinbe's mouth hung open for a few seconds before he shook his head.

"…The fact that you're actually willing to give him a chance after what he would have done is probably going to make an impact on its own. But…Nami, for you to be willing to go this far…I don't know what to say."

Nami just shook her head, smiling slightly.

"Anything to make sure the future gets brighter faster."

"Ah, Nami my love! You're so beautiful when you're thinking of our happy ending," Sanji cried.

"It warms my heart…though I don't have one. Yohohohoho!" Brook chortled.

Jinbe smiled as well, but soon brought their attention back to the reason they were there.

"All right. If I remember right, Big Bro Ti was up against a lot of Marine grunts and a Rear Admiral. Luffy, can you take care of the grunts?"

"No problem, Jinbe," Luffy said, nodding.

"All right. The rest of you, there's a small fleet of battleships coming to the coast to ambush the Sun Pirates."

He said no more, and no more needed to be said; to the trained eye, Luffy and Jinbe went in one direction and the rest of the crew went in the other. To the untrained eye, the ten of them simply vanished.

* * *

Fisher Tiger gave a final wave to Koala as he walked away from the village. All of their eyes were upon him, either with hostility or fear, except for Koala's. The girl had grown on him, after all. He walked away, out of sight of the village to return to his ship, reflecting on the stares that he received.

 _Koala…I want to believe that by the time you grow up, humans and fishmen will—_

His thoughts broke off at the next moment, as he found himself surrounded by Marine soldiers pointing rifles at him. He froze as a man with a very large hairdo began speaking to him tonelessly.

"I am Rear Admiral Strawberry from Marine Headquarters. We received a tip from a certain island that you would come here. The adults in the village you just visited were informed that there might be a small commotion out here. They accepted it…so that we would let that girl stay even though she belongs to the Celestial Dragons."

Tiger began trembling with fury.

"Captain of the Sun Pirates, Fisher Tiger. As you know, you are guilty of two crimes. Raiding, and desertion," Strawberry continued, showing no emotion.

Tiger's heart clenched, and his hatred towards humans began to congeal. But as the rear admiral raised his hand, a wave of power washed over the area. Tiger felt his breath catch and his hair stand on end, and the rear admiral staggered. The rest of the Marines fell unconscious at the same moment.

"Conqueror's…impossible!" Strawberry said, showing considerable shock in contrast to his previously unshakable demeanor. Tiger's anger faded as he slowly realized what had happened, and looked around to see who had saved him. Two figures clothed in black, one human-shaped and one unidentifiable due to bulk, appeared a short distance away. Both approached the rear admiral, who tensed up.

"Identify yourselves!"

"Now, that's a stupid thing to say. If we wanted to do that, why would we be wearing these?" said the smaller one. The voice was unfamiliar, and young, but powerful.

"And besides, it's not like it's going to make a difference to you. You won't survive long enough to tell anyone," snarled the bulkier one. Tiger stared at the figure; that voice was extremely familiar, but somehow, he couldn't quite place it. The rear admiral opened his mouth to utter a retort, but before he could say a word, the bulkier figure was in front of him.

"FISHMAN KARATE: 10,000 BRICK FIST!"

Tiger's jaw dropped as he heard the attack name; not only was it a fishman defending him, he had a higher proficiency with Fishman Karate than he had ever seen…and he knew for a fact that there had been nobody that powerful on Fishman Island when he last left.

His shock multiplied when he saw the rear admiral crumble beneath the attack, his bones shattering and blood spurting from his mouth as his organs crumpled. He flew back several paces, and struck one of the cacti hard; he was dead before he hit the ground. The two figures remained motionless for only a few moments before they turned back to Tiger, who looked at them cautiously.

"Let's get back to the ship, Big Bro," the fishman said, and Tiger's eyes widened as the title revealed who was beneath the hood.

* * *

The Sun Pirates waited, a bit of frustration growing among them.

"Big Bro shouldn't be taking this long," Arlong said, pushing off from the mast and walking towards the edge of the boat.

"What are those humans doing to hold him up?"

"Nothing they could do should be holding him up unless they're thanking him for bringing Koala back home, and I have my doubts that they'll be that open to him," Jinbe said.

"Maybe Koala's giving him a long goodbye," Hachi said.

"That's probably it; the boss probably wouldn't stay for anything else. And besides, I doubt it'd be quiet enough that we wouldn't hear if there was something bad going on," Aladdin added.

No sooner did he finish saying that than there was a loud crash from within the island, accompanied by a rising cloud of dust. Arlong gritted his teeth.

"THAT is not normal! Big Bro might need help!"

"He already has it," came a female voice.

Every fishman onboard looked to one of the balconies, where seven figures of various shapes and sizes were standing, black cloaks and hoods obscuring every feature.

"The Marines staged an ambush to destroy the Sun Pirates, with Rear Admiral Strawberry leading them. That cloud of dust is, in all likelihood, Fishman Karate vaporizing Strawberry's bones and organs and sending him flying into one of those massive cacti, resulting in countless puncture wounds and excessive blunt trauma for a very painful death," continued the same speaker coolly. Some of those onboard winced at the imagery.

"I wish I hadn't let you borrow my medical books, Robin," groaned the smallest of the figures in a childlike voice.

"Hmph, it serves him right for trying to attack Big Bro. So, then, you're fishmen who came to help the Sun Pirates?" Arlong asked.

"No. Only one of our crew is a fishman."

The implication sunk in fast, and then five of the figures vanished while the other two looked in the direction of the sea, where a small fleet of Marine warships was closing in and beginning to fire cannonballs.

"I'm sure you're skeptical about the truth of our intentions. This should be proof enough, I think. MIL FLEUR: GIGANTESCO MANO!"

The pirates saw that on one of the ships, a pair of massive arms had materialized, drawing enough attention that most of the other ships ceased firing.

"CLUTCH!"

The arms closed in on the ship, squeezing it until it broke in half. The fishmen and other ships had no time to marvel at the destruction before the other figures moved into action, and the resulting massacre left the fishmen too busy gaping to bother asking questions or attacking the Marines themselves.

One figure ran on the water and leapt the full distance to another ship, which soon resembled nothing so much as an icy ghost ship. Another remained on the shore, slicing a pair of the ships in half with two simple swings of his swords, and then sending a tornado flying towards them. Another used a staff to generate thunderclouds that enveloped a ship before exploding with lightning. Another fired a laser of pure light towards one of the ships, blowing it up with ease. Another took aim at the ships with a slingshot, firing pellets that burst into massive plants, devouring and crunching up the ship like a kraken. And the last flew over one of the ships, seemingly on fire, and leaving the ship behind him burning.

"…The very elements of nature are their weapons…are they gods?" asked one of the fishmen. Nobody on the crew, not even Arlong or Jinbe, refuted the claim with how the mysterious strangers obliterated the battleships.

"No, we're not gods," said the woman who, along with the small figure that was apparently a doctor, hadn't moved from where she first appeared.

"…Then who are you?" Jinbe asked.

"All in good time, Jinbe, once the rest of our crew escorts your captain back here."

"He's here," said the small figure, his size shifting as he jumped down and off of the ship, and the Sun Pirates saw the small group approaching them: two more figures in black robes, one human-shaped and one bulky, and the last their own captain, unscathed.

"None of us were hurt, Chopper," the bulky figure said, something like weariness in his voice.

"Sounds like he wore himself out with that 10,000 Brick Fist," remarked the swordsman. The Sun Pirates noted with a bit of surprise, but not much at this point, that all seven of the other figures were now standing right next to them.

"No, he's probably just nullifying the risk of Chopper mummifying him again as soon as possible," said the slingshot man. That made the rest of the crew laugh.

"Yeah, I still remember that; he was proud to win that fight, but ever since Chopper treated him for it—"

"SHUT UP!" roared the bulky figure, appearing right next to them, which only set the rest of the figures, minus the small doctor, into more gales of laughter. It was at that point that Fisher Tiger came onboard as well, and the laughter slowly died down.

"All right, now what the hell is going on?" Arlong demanded, looking towards the ten figures that had protected them. The woman with the hand power replied.

"We have no intention of divulging our secrets fully to anyone aside from Fisher Tiger himself. As a means of a brief explanation, however, we are from the future. An old man with a time-based Devil Fruit allowed us to regain something that we lost in our pasts. As for the exact details…"

She trailed off, and looked towards the figure that had killed Strawberry. He removed his hood, and as one, the fishmen's jaws dropped.

"Jinbe?!" chorused most of those on the ship. The older whale shark fishman faced them with a serious expression.

"Big Bro Ti wouldn't appreciate me going into the details, so I'll just say that in my time, despite the crew's efforts, he died from his injuries."

Tiger's eyes widened, and the rest of the crew swallowed their curiosity.

"After that, I took command of the Sun Pirates for a year, up until the point where the World Government sent me an invitation to become a Warlord. In order to allow the members of our crew who were enslaved to return to normal lives on Fishman Island, I accepted. It was nine years later that the World Government captured one of the division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates, and announced that they would publicly execute him. In other words, they declared war on Whitebeard. Because of all the old man had done for our race, I refused to fight against him, and forfeited my title. I was sent to Impel Down, where I was imprisoned in the same cell as the commander that they planned to kill.

"To my surprise, and pretty much the rest of the world's, the commander's younger brother, another pirate captain, heard that the commander was going to be executed, and broke into Impel Down to save him. He reached the cell where I was minutes after they took the commander away to bring him to Marineford. I was impressed enough that I offered his brother my help, and with the help of some others in Impel Down, we escaped and sailed to Marineford."

Jinbe closed his eyes and grimaced.

"Even after all of that, it wasn't enough. By some miracle, we managed to free the commander, but Admiral Akainu, otherwise known as Sakazuki, killed him anyway, and the old man himself was killed a little while after that. The commander's brother had earned my respect by that time, and with the help of some others, we escaped Marineford. I had to slap some sense into him when he woke up out of the shock-induced coma that he fell into when his brother died in his arms, and I managed to rekindle his spirit. Two years of training later, he and his crew came to Fishman Island."

Jinbe opened his eyes, and glowered at the rest of the crew, who seemed unnerved as a result.

"And what they found there was the initiation of a coup by the New Fishman Pirates, a group of fishmen that grew up basking in the hatred of humans, to the point that they became nothing but vessels of hatred. They planned to execute the royal family and anyone who _dared_ to agree with their idea that we could live with humans in peace. All they live for is being able to ensure that the hatred we have for humans survives, and they don't care how many fishmen they have to kill to make sure of it."

Nobody on the crew, not even Arlong, had a look of anything that wasn't shock, disgust, or horror.

"That's going too far," Fisher Tiger said, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"Yes, but by that time, they had amassed an army of 70,000 fishmen, 30,000 human slaves, and at least eight sea kings to serve them. And they overdosed on the energy steroids from the Sacred Chest, to the point where nobody could stand up to them…except for the crew whose captain I had come to respect. There were only ten including me, but before us, the army fell like wheat before a sickle…though it got to the point where the captain tried to annihilate the entire island by crashing Noah into it before my captain beat him. It wasn't long after that that I joined his crew. Fifteen years from now, with knowledge of the past and present, the hatred between humans and fishmen has faded, and we stand alongside each other in peace…and the man that I came to respect has become Gold Roger's successor."

The crew looked at Jinbe with varying expressions, and nobody moved or spoke for several moments. Finally, the past Jinbe stepped forward, looking at everyone aside from his future self.

"You all are humans?"

The nine figures nodded.

"…What was your opinion of fishmen before he…before _I_ joined you?"

"A fishman and a mermaid adopted and raised me after my parents abandoned me; prejudice has never had any place in my heart," said the biggest figure.

"I never had enough thought to spare towards something so petty," the woman with the hands added.

"I never even heard of fishmen before I left my island," said the doctor, and it seemed that the rest of the crew responded in kind. Arlong scoffed as he came closer.

"Oh, come on. You really expect us to believe a bunch of humans? You're all the same! Tell the truth: you all look down on us, too, don't you? You'd never be here if it weren't for Jinbe!"

A palpable chill settled on the boat, which Tiger recognized as the Haki that had saved his life. Even through it, many of the fishmen were staring incredulously at Arlong, the way that they saved them from the Marines still fresh on their mind. After a few seconds of chilling silence, one of the other men, the swordsman, began to speak.

"The only thing you just said that was true is that we wouldn't be here if it weren't for Jinbe, and it's not because of any prejudice or racist crap. We're pirates, not heroes; we wouldn't go out of our way to go back in time and save someone if one of our crew didn't have an attachment to him. You should at least understand that much."

Arlong frowned, but said nothing; it was a fair point.

"As for looking down on fishmen," said a different female voice, "none of us have ever had any reason to hate the whole race. The only ones we've ever hated are the New Fishman Pirates…and the Arlong Pirates."

Arlong refocused on them, as did many others in the crew.

"In our time, as soon as Jinbe became a Warlord, you gathered your crew and left the Grand Line. You came to my home island and claimed it as your territory, and forced everyone to pay a tax for their lives. You killed my mother right in front of me because she could only pay for my sister and I, and then forced me into slavery because of my cartography skills. Because of _you_ , my entire village grew up seeing the fishmen the same way that we see the Celestial Dragons."

Arlong gritted his teeth.

"That wasn't the end of it, either. To make me cooperate with you, you promised that if I could pay you 100 million berries, you'd set me free along with my village. I started stealing from pirates to gather the money that I needed. After eight years, I had 93 million berries…and that's when you bribed a corrupt Marine to steal all of it. My village rushed off in a suicide charge, and if it hadn't been for this crew stopping you, I would have been left completely alone. It's just like the New Fishman Pirates, Arlong: humans only hated you because you acted out of your hatred towards them. I can never forgive you; it's only because of Jinbe that I'm not making absolutely sure that you can't hurt my family this time."

Many of the crew was looking at Arlong with outright disgust, which only served to make him angrier. The future Jinbe spoke again.

"I remember it clearly, Arlong: you were the only one who could never accept Koala as part of the crew, the only one who was convinced that when she grew up, she'd be just like the other humans. Let me enlighten you: the mark we left on her never faded. She joined the Revolutionary Army."

 _That_ pulled Arlong up short. Even through all of his racism, when the rumors had reached the crew of a group of humans that were essentially declaring war against the World Government, and the World Nobles, something that nobody else in history had had the guts to do before his own captain, he couldn't help but feel some amount of respect towards them.

"…I'm guessing they became a powerful force in your time?" Arlong asked, his tone neutral.

"The leader, Dragon, achieved the title 'most wanted man in the world' by the time my captain set out; being an ordinary member of the Army was punishable by a death sentence or life in Impel Down, and she was one of the executives, as an instructor of Fishman Karate," Jinbe replied.

Many of the members of the crew couldn't help but beam with pride, and Arlong closed his eyes, thinking about what a difference the crew had actually made on that girl. He reflected on the devastation that fishmen, not humans, had nearly caused their whole race, only to be saved by humans…and the fact that it was humans who had helped save Tiger and the crew. Part of his mind immediately went to the argument that humans were responsible for betraying and killing Tiger, too, but even after the pain that it seemed fishmen had caused them, they were still willing to help Tiger…and _him,_ he realized. They were giving him a chance after all he had done. A large part of him felt disgusted that he was actually conceding to their persuasion…but he still did. He opened his eyes, and stared at the older Jinbe.

"…Don't expect me to let go of my hatred so easily, Jinbe. I'll accept that there are some humans that aren't all bad, but I'm not about to start getting friendly with them."

"If this were all it took to make you friendly towards humans, Arlong, I'd be worried," Jinbe replied, and then turned to his former captain.

"Big Bro, we don't have a lot of time; we can only stay for an hour, and we won't be able to come back after we're gone. The rest of what we have to say is only for you. It's your choice whether or not to tell the crew after we leave."

Fisher Tiger nodded without hesitation, and followed Jinbe and the other cloaked figures into the ship.

* * *

As soon as the door closed, Jinbe allowed his strong appearance to fade, rushing towards his former captain and embracing him. Tiger was taken aback.

"Big Bro…I never thought I'd be able to see you again," Jinbe murmured. Tiger returned the embrace as the fact sunk in: he had died right before Jinbe's eyes, and by a miracle, he had come back in time to save him.

"Thank you for saving me, Jinbe," Tiger said. The other fishman sobbed for only a couple of minutes before he regained control. As Tiger stepped away, he looked at the other nine figures, which had removed their hoods. Fisher Tiger took in their appearances…and blinked.

"…I thought everyone else on your crew was a human, Jinbe," Fisher Tiger said, staring at a skeleton with an afro, a man that looked more like a robot, and a small furry creature with antlers.

"Hey, I am human! I'm a cyborg," the robot said.

"I am human as well; I died once before, but came back to life by the power of the Revive-Revive Fruit after my body had withered away," the skeleton said.

Tiger turned to the creature, who shrugged.

"I'm a reindeer, but I ate the Human-Human Fruit," he said.

Tiger blinked, and then shrugged as well.

"All right, which of you is the captain?"

One of the men spoke up, a young man with black hair, a small scar under one eye, and a wide grin.

"Monkey D. Luffy, captain of the Straw Hat Pirates! Nice to meet you!"

Tiger seemed distinctly skeptical, but the voice matched the one that unleashed the Haki. He looked at the rest of the crew, who followed their captain's example.

"Roronoa Zoro, first mate of the Straw Hat Pirates and the world's greatest swordsman," said the swordsman. Contrary to the captain, Tiger had no trouble believing him as he took in the ferocious smirk and missing eye.

"Nami, navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates," said the woman who had apparently served under Arlong.

"Usopp, sniper of the Straw Hat Pirates," said a young man with a long nose.

"Sanji, chef of the Straw Hat Pirates," said a man with blond hair covering one eye and very curly eyebrows.

"Tony Tony Chopper, doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates," said the reindeer.

"Nico Robin, archaeologist of the Straw Hat Pirates," said the other woman.

"Franky, shipwright of the Straw Hat Pirates," said the cyborg, posing oddly.

"Brook, musician of the Straw Hat Pirates," said the skeleton.

Tiger took in their faces, memorizing them carefully, and then looked back at his former subordinate.

"So, what else do you have to tell me?"

"In our time, after I joined the Warlords, one of the World Nobles came to Fishman Island to collect the slaves that he had once owned. Without the threat of an admiral coming to avenge him, the former slaves nearly killed him, but Otohime took the bullet, trying to make sure that hatred wasn't passed on to the children. The Noble tried to hold her hostage, up until her daughter, Princess Shirahoshi, started screaming, and sea kings showed up in response to her voice."

Tiger's eyes widened.

"The next time you return to Fishman Island, inform Neptune and Otohime that their daughter has inherited the name of Poseidon, and _make sure that you are alone_. Tell the crew anything else I say if you want, but _this_ must remain between you and the royal family."

Tiger nodded.

"After that, at the queen's insistence, Aladdin treated the Noble until he was well enough to leave the island, and Otohime went with him to offer her wishes to the World Nobles. A week later, she returned with a note from them, offering their full support to whatever signatures she could gather. Pretty much the whole island threw in their support, but then it all fell apart. Hody Jones, the future captain of the New Fishman Pirates who was serving as a royal guard to hone his combat skills, bribed a human to set fire to the box of signatures. In the confusion, he killed Otohime, and then he killed the human he used and announced to everyone that the human was the one who did it."

Tiger gritted his teeth, and even the demon in his heart cringed at the result of what hatred had done. Finally, he looked back up at Jinbe.

"Even if you tell me all of this, I don't see what you expect me to do now, Jinbe. With a dead rear admiral on my hands, I get the feeling that I'm going to be hunted even worse than before, and if I was killed by one small group of Marines, how do you expect me to handle an army?"

"You'll just need to find a way to live out the rest of your life safely. And the easiest way to do that is to use the same solution that I did."

"What? Even if I wanted to, I doubt that the World Government would let me become a Warlord."

"You don't need to. You just need to establish yourself under the protection of an existing Warlord."

Tiger looked at Jinbe with a scowl.

"You think that subservience is the way out of being hunted?"

"It won't be subservience if you ally with the correct Warlord. Boa Hancock will welcome you with open arms."

"…Why would the Pirate Empress welcome me?"

Jinbe stepped closer, and lowered his voice so that anyone else without Haki wouldn't be able to hear it.

"Why wouldn't she? You're the one who freed her and her sisters from hell."

Tiger's eyes widened, and then narrowed as he frowned.

"I see. I suppose I can trust her, then."

Jinbe nodded.

"But I don't recommend that you tell anyone the truth about their pasts; they've gone to great lengths to cover it up, even from their own people. You know better than anyone what that's like."

Tiger grimaced as his suspicions were confirmed.

"…Let me guess. I lost too much blood in that ambush, and I refused a transfusion with human blood to save my life because I gave in to my hatred, and I confessed that I was once a slave myself to justify my refusal."

Jinbe nodded again.

"You also said, though, that Otohime had the right idea."

Tiger looked back at Jinbe with an unreadable expression.

"…Has the hatred truly died in your future, Jinbe?"

"If it's not dead yet, then it won't be long before it is," Jinbe replied, nodding a third time. Tiger closed his eyes and sighed.

"…So be it. I'll strive to do what I can to help our race get closer to that. I'll ally with Boa Hancock, and I'll see to it that the king and queen are warned about Shirahoshi, Hody, and the World Noble."

He paused, and then opened his eyes.

"…You managed to talk Arlong into giving humans a chance. Is there any chance of doing the same thing for Hody?"

Jinbe shook his head.

"He and his crew are beyond help; they're just empty shells driven by hatred. All that can be done at this point is to seal off the fishman district and gather everyone into the island so that no more monsters are made."

"Then I'll tell that to the King as well. Do you have an idea in mind as to how I can meet Boa Hancock without traveling through the Calm Belt?"

"Of course."

Saying no more than that, Jinbe turned back to the door and walked out, and all of the fishmen turned to face the figures as they emerged from the cabin. Tiger formed his face into an unreadable expression, and the crew refrained from asking questions. The future Jinbe looked around before spotting a certain octopus.

"Hachi!"

Said fishman jumped, and then walked forward.

"Y-yes, Jinbe?"

Jinbe leaned forward and spoke softly so that none of the rest of the crew could hear. At the same time, he reached into the folds of his clothes and pulled out a folded piece of paper, which he held out to Hachi.

"Go to Shakky and Rayleigh. Tell them everything that happened today, and tell them that the Sun Pirates need protection, and three sisters that they helped out not long ago can give them the help that they need, then tell them that this is my Vivre Card. They'll know what you mean."

Hachi blinked in confusion, but nodded, pocketing the paper. Jinbe stepped back, and spoke more audibly.

"Good. Leave now, and swim with all the strength you have; every second between now and you finishing your mission is a second closer to the Marines finding out that Strawberry is dead and sending someone stronger."

Hachi glanced at Fisher Tiger, who nodded, and then jumped overboard and swam out of sight. Then the remainder of the Straw Hat Pirates, their hoods still down, turned to face the fishmen.

"So, now that we've saved Fisher Tiger and set things in motion to make sure things turn out better for all of you, there's only one thing left to do," said the captain. The Sun Pirates looked at him curiously, while the future crew smiled knowingly.

"Yeah, you're right. It'll be a good way to help make it clear to these guys that not all humans are bad," said the shipwright.

"The question is, do we have enough?" asked the swordsman.

"Of course. We've got everything that those Navy ships had onboard," said the chef, gesturing to a place on the shore. Everyone turned to see that there was a cornucopia of food there.

"…All right, how the hell did you raid all of those kitchens? When did you have time for that between when the attacks started and when all the ships were destroyed?" the sniper asked exasperatedly.

"Actually, now that I think about it, Sanji wasn't with us up on the deck. So, that's where he went," the reindeer reflected.

"Even so, that speed is very impressive," the skeleton said.

"I learned it from you, Brook. Anyway, I think that that's enough food for what we need, don't you?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah, that'll work. So, then…" the captain said, looking back at the Sun Pirates. Then he grinned.

"LET'S PARTY!"

* * *

The Sun Pirates found it a bit odd to be coerced into a party alongside a group of humans from the future, but they soon found that they couldn't resist; if the fact that their captain was still alive and they were safe wasn't enough, the Straw Hat Pirates emanated a charisma that was too much for them to resist.

With some impossibly fast carpentry skills, the cyborg shipwright Franky had used the wreckage from the Marine ships to build a few tables and chairs, which were soon all filled with pirates chatting amicably amidst food that was positively divine. Sanji gave another handful of recipes to the chef of the crew, and though he was noticeably cool towards Arlong and some of the fishmen who were loyal to him, he held back his cuisine from nobody.

"It'd take a lot more than an eleven-year-old grudge to make me consider not feeding someone who was hungry," he had mentioned.

Chopper, the small hybrid doctor, spent half of his time dancing on the table with chopsticks up his nose and stretching out his lips, and the other half giving advice to the ship's doctor, Aladdin.

The musician Brook showed why he had the title 'Soul King' when he began playing his music, and whoever among the fishmen had already eaten was found dancing shamelessly alongside the humans.

Nami and Usopp found themselves explaining how they had managed to use the techniques that they had, which soon led into storytelling to another group of the fishmen. Robin joined them, while at the same time using her Devil Fruit powers to amplify the amusement from Chopper, Franky, and Luffy's antics. It came as a large surprise that the Pirate King was so happy-go-lucky, but none of the crew forgot the chill from when he was angry, which became obvious whenever he saw Arlong.

A handful of the fishmen had challenged Zoro, the greatest swordsman in the world, to a drinking contest upon seeing how much he could chug. It drew an audience from many of the fishmen, but none of the Straw Hats except for Sanji, who provided the booze, paid them much mind, knowing the outcome before it happened. Sure enough, it was only a couple of dozen rounds before the last of the fishmen passed out, and Zoro seemed no worse for wear.

The past and future Jinbe spent a lot of time conversing with each other, everyone else giving them their space. Fisher Tiger spent a short while with them, but more was spent amongst his crewmates; the food and entertainment that they provided made him laugh harder than he had in years, and Jinbe seemed to take pride in it.

The end result of the party was that thoughts that all humans were despicable were no longer considered; even with the cool treatment that some of the crew showed towards him, even Arlong found himself grudgingly warming up to them, not that he showed it. As the Straw Hats' hour reached its last few minutes, however, the Straw Hats gathered together at Jinbe's request.

"Big Bro Ti. I want to ask one more thing of you before we go."

* * *

Koala was still in the midst of a party celebrating her safe return in the almost hour since Fisher Tiger had left. All of the villagers strove to make noise to mask the commotion that they knew was befalling Fisher Tiger, but they were genuinely happy to have Koala back, though her enthusiasm at the fishmen was starting to bother them; she was still young and didn't understand, but still…

"Koala, you need to stop talking about the fishmen," her mother instructed her. "You're home now, you don't need to think about anything that happened to you out there anymore."

"But Mom, they were all so nice! It's all because of them that I got home, and I had so much fun with them!"

"Koala—"

"I suggest that you listen to your daughter."

All of the nearby villagers turned to face ten figures clothed in black, who had appeared without anyone noticing. A strange chill emanated from them, stunning everyone silent. The same figure who had spoken before, a female, continued.

"Koala, there's something that your village didn't tell you when Fisher Tiger brought you back here."

Koala's mother and many of the adults began to object, but the chill on them intensified.

"Shut up. She deserves the truth," growled a large figure.

"The Marines got a tip-off at another island that the Sun Pirates were coming here, and they told everyone in the village that there was going to be a commotion nearby, and that if they didn't say anything, they'd overlook the fact that someone who 'rightfully' belonged to the World Nobles was here," the first figure continued.

Koala's mouth slowly opened as the truth sunk in, and she looked back at her mother, who was still looking with horror at the figures. Another one spoke up, addressing the village with a cold, bestial voice.

"All of you. Do you realize what you've done? Fisher Tiger and the Sun Pirates never did anything to you. The crime that formed them is that they escaped from slavery, and Koala can tell you how horrible that is. They went out of their way to bring Koala back home, and how did you repay them?"

"With nothing but fear and loathing. You didn't care about the well being of a ship full of people who weren't human as long as Koala was safe. You set the value of all of those fishmen's lives at nothing compared to that of a human, and condemned the ones who saved your daughter to death," said another female, her voice equally cold.

The chill around them intensified, and many of the villagers were looking to be on the verge of passing out. Koala alone seemed unaffected, and was beginning to cry. In the silence of that impasse, footfalls came from nearby, and the village looked to see Fisher Tiger himself, alive and unharmed, walking towards them. Koala looked at him, and ran from her mother's arms to embrace the fishman, who slowly returned the embrace before looking back at the villagers, his eyes falling over each of them before resting on Koala's mother. She began trembling, and Fisher Tiger approached her, Koala alongside him. He stood tall over her, none of the villagers able to move, and she closed her eyes, fearing for her life.

"…I forgive you."

The chill among them all vanished, and Koala's mother opened her eyes to stare at the fishman, tears still coming down her cheeks, unable to believe what she had just heard. Tiger turned away from the villagers, but spoke loudly enough for all of them to hear.

"It will not be long before the Sun Pirates are disbanded. When that happens, I will stand with our island's queen in trying to improve relations between humans and fishmen. We're different, but we share the same blood, the same world, and the same intelligence. This crew convinced me that peace is the best option. I hope that what you've seen today does the same for you."

One of the figures grabbed hold of Tiger, and the next instant, all eleven were gone, leaving Tiger's last words echoing in the villagers' ears, and Koala crying in relief that everyone she cared about was still alive.

* * *

The Straw Hats rematerialized a short distance away from the rest of the crew, and Fisher Tiger sighed.

"…That was harder than I expected it to be, Jinbe; if it wasn't for your crew, I don't think I ever would have been able to do that."

The next moment, the ten of them began to glow.

"But you did it, Big Bro, and hopefully that will make more people who are willing to fight for peace. This is the first step towards the brighter future that I've seen, and it'll be brighter with you, Otohime, and the crew leading the rest of the crew down the right path."

Fisher Tiger gave a small smile.

"Thank you again, Jinbe. You've saved my life in more ways than one."

Jinbe embraced him once more, briefly, and then stood back with his crew. The rest of the Sun Pirates ran towards them, and the ten of them smiled as they called farewells with promises of the future. Tiger and Jinbe shared one last look before the light went out, taking the pirates with it.

 **Done and done, and a big thank you to lunanime.**

 **Only one announcement at this** **point: as there have been no votes since the last chapter, Corazon is the winner, meaning that he is up next.** **It will be no sooner than mid-December before I publish the next chapter, however, as the end of the semester is nigh, and with it, finals week. Even so, I plan to update again before the year's end; I'm eager to get to Robin's turn after Corazon.**

 **So, if you have time, PLEASE leave a review; I thrive on constructive criticism, as it helps make me a better writer. I'm looking forward to the next update myself, both because it will be interesting to see the crew fight the Donquixote Pirates, and because that will mean that I can finally write Robin's story. I'd like to get to it as soon as possible…but, as we all know, Patience is a virtue.**


	11. Minion Island

**As I stated previously, I have no intention of breaking my word twice in one fic. However, I only said that I planned to update again before the year's end, so I'm not breaking my word by updating later than that.**

 **…I really, really love loopholes. But all joking aside, it was more trouble than I expected to write out the Donquixote Pirates, who I figured would not be a match for the Pirate King's crew but nonetheless would be no pushovers. Not to mention the fact that I remembered the canon wrong, so when I was just a bit away from finishing it, I had to rewrite most of it. But, I've finally managed to come up with something that I can call satisfactory…and here it is.**

Snowy fields and cold temperatures bombarded the Straw Hats' senses once more as the jump completed. While their outfits still insulated them, the reaction to their surroundings was less than warm.

"Snow? I didn't expect us to go to any cold areas again after Drum," Brook said.

"I didn't either. It was summer when Ohara was destroyed," Robin added, but then raised her hand to point in the distance. "But I think it's clear where we are judging from _that_."

Everyone turned to look where she pointed. For six of them, a dreadfully familiar sight met their eyes: a massive web of strings spreading out and sticking into the ground in a massive fence, reminiscent of a birdcage in appearance.

"Doflamingo. So, you chose Corazon after all, Sanji?" Franky asked.

"Yeah. I guess I'm just thinking of how much Law's past was like mine; things would have turned out a lot better if he had Corazon beside him. That, and I'd love to take a real crack at Doflamingo after everything he did."

"You really think you can beat him, cook? He pushed _Luffy_ to his limits when they fought," Zoro pointed out.

"Mosshead, let's think about this for a second: I'm one year stronger than we were the last time we fought his crew, and they're _thirteen_ years weaker. I doubt it will be as easy as the cannon fodder we had for the last few jumps, but I seriously doubt he's strong enough to win now."

Sanji exhaled some smoke.

"That said, I just want first crack at him; Luffy's the one who knows about his powers and fighting style. I'm more interested in helping Law and Corazon than ripping that bastard a new one."

Zoro shrugged, and Nami spoke up.

"Fine, but we'll still need to know what we're getting into before we move in. Robin, who's on his crew right now?"

The archaeologist pondered for a moment.

"Of the fifteen crewmates he had when we first entered the New World, we can omit Monet, Sugar, and Violet since he hasn't met them yet, and Baby 5, Buffalo, and Dellinger since they're still only children. So, assuming that all of them can withstand the opening shot of Luffy's Haki, that leaves nine enemies, one for each of us: his four executives—Pica, Diamante, Trebol, and Vergo—and his five officers—Lao G, Jora, Gladius, Machvise, and Senor Pink. I think I'd like to settle my old score with Gladius," she finished, smiling chillingly.

"I call Senor Pink," Franky said. "I heard his story back in Dressrosa; I think he deserves the chance to keep his family."

"If Sanji's taking 'Mingo first, then I'll start with that mucus bastard," Luffy growled.

"That soprano guy doesn't seem like much of a challenge at his normal size. Vergo is supposed to have some impressive Armament Haki, I'll take him on," Zoro smirked.

"Then I suppose I'll try my swordsmanship against Pica," Brook said.

"And I'll take out the last executive, Diamante," Jinbe said.

"I call Jora. I still hate what she put us through on the Sunny," Nami said, smirking evilly.

"I'll go for Machvise," Chopper said.

"Which means I'm left with the old man. Yeah, I think I can work with that," Usopp smirked.

"All right, now that we've got that decided, let's move in. Chopper, if I remember Law's story right, Corazon was badly injured at this point. Take out the fat guy as fast as you can, then move to treat him. And Luffy, take your time with Trebol; I want to cripple Doflamingo before you take over."

The captain and doctor nodded, and then the crew turned to face the same direction, towards the source of powerful auras, and put on their hoods. A second later, only their footprints remained to show that anyone was ever there.

* * *

Commander Donquixote Rosinante of the Marines, otherwise known as Corazon of the Donquixote Pirates, slumped exhausted against the pile of treasure chests that his brother's crew had looted from the Barrels Pirates. Only he knew that the young Trafalgar Law was within the chest he leaned against, the boy still believed the promise that he had made not to die. Rosinante suppressed his guilt at the lie, knowing that Law's last memory of him would be his smiling face, and hoping that he would take advantage of the life he now had to live.

He broke out of these reflections as his older brother approached him, staring at him with a decidedly unimpressed look. He took in the sight of the crewmates standing before him: Diamante, Trebol, Pica, Gladius, Lao G, Machvise...and Doflamingo himself.

"It's been six months. Corazon," Doflamingo said tonelessly.

Rosinante stared back at him impassively. Then, slowly, he reached a hand into his jacket. One of the crew exclaimed, only for Doflamingo to silence them with an outstretched arm. Corazon closed his eyes, calling to mind the time that Sengoku took him in after his father's murder. Then he opened them, staring defiantly at his brother as he pulled a pistol out of his jacket, and cocked it.

"Marine Code 01746. I am Commander Rosinante of Marine Headquarters," he stated. "Captain of the Donquixote Pirates, Doflamingo: I have been undercover to prevent a future tragedy of your doing. I am a Marine!"

Veins popped on Doflamingo's forehead, the only outward sign of his anger. Rosinante smiled and tapped his head against the box behind him, subtly signaling Law with his next words.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't want you to hate me," he said softly.

"You fool! Do you think it will help you to apologize now?!" Gladius demanded.

"Stop telling those tasteless jokes...and answer these questions!" Doflamingo barked. "Where's the Op-Op Fruit? And where's Law?"

Rosinante kept his smile as he replied: "The Devil Fruit...the Op-Op Fruit...I let Law eat it! He's a Devil Fruit user now! He managed to get out of the cage. I bet he's been taken into protective custody by a lookout ship from Marine Headquarters by now. You can't touch him!"

Doflamingo's anger grew with every word. The next moment, Buffalo came zooming in overhead, Baby 5 on his back.

"Young Master!"

"We heard the Marines say earlier on the radio that they took a boy under their care!"

"Why didn't you report that sooner?!" Doflamingo demanded, turning his eyes to the duo in the sky.

"I came here as fast as I could, even if it doesn't look like it!" Buffalo called back.

"I'm sorry!" Baby 5 added.

 _A boy? What an unbelievable coincidence. Law is still here,_ Rosinante reflected.

"Look into that immediately! I'll undo the Birdcage!" Doflamingo ordered.

 _This is an unbelievable show of fortune. As I thought, Law, something compels you to stay alive. Saviors keep descending on you one after another._

"Prepare to set sail! If what he said is true, we'll sink the lookout ship and get Law back!"

The rest of the crew began walking away.

"Don't. Why would you want to go after Law?" Rosinante managed.

"Why would I want to go after Law? If he ate the Op-Op Fruit, he needs to be educated in order to die for me!"

Rosinante grimaced, but before either he or his brother could say another word, a much more unnatural chill than the snow washed over him, and he trembled somewhat. From the look on his brother and his crew's faces, they felt it as well; Doflamingo's scowl had traces of fear in it, Pica, Diamante, Trebol, and Lao G were shocked, and Gladius and Machvise looked to be on the verge of passing out. The next moment, a crash came from nearby; Baby 5 and Buffalo lay in a crater of snow, out cold and foaming at the mouth.

All eight men took in this sight. Then, slowly, all of their gazes turned in the same direction, the source of the chill. Ten figures shrouded in pure black stood a short distance away from them, their clothes strangely stagnant in the chilling breeze.

"Well, this is a rip-off. Looks like we're going to have to do a little hunting once we're done here," said one of the figures coldly.

"Yeah. I was hoping we could take care of all these bastards at one time, but I guess we can track down the others after this," said another.

"On the bright side, I can get right to the main reason we're here, if you guys don't mind," piped up another, in a high-pitched voice.

"Sure thing. And here I thought I wouldn't get a chance to fight," chuckled another one, with abnormally large arms.

Doflamingo's anger towards his brother seemed forgotten for the moment as he barked at the figures.

"Who the hell are you?"

The figures all took up positions ready to fight, and Doflamingo's crew did the same, almost automatically. Neither party moved for a few seconds. Then, the second speaker broke the silence.

"We are the crew of D."

The ten figures vanished the next moment, and Doflamingo's horror at the answer slowed his reaction by a single second, which proved to be a single second too many. The next thing Rosinante knew, all seven of the Donquixote Pirates were sent flying in different directions, and the ten strangers were right in front of him. The one who had spoken before looked back at him, and he cringed.

"We're here to save you and Law. We'll explain everything once the pirates are dealt with; in the meantime, our doctor will treat both of you."

Rosinante looked at them with an expression of mixed surprise, disbelief, gratitude, and fear. Long before he gathered his bearings to speak, nine of the figures had vanished again, while the remaining one pushed off the top of the chest he leaned against before opening it, revealing Law within. The boy trembled as the figure stared at him, only for the latter to nod decisively before shrinking to the size of a child and turning his attention to Rosinante.

"Apart from the Amber Lead Syndrome, nothing appears to be wrong with Law right now. He'll need more protection from the cold as soon as we can manage it, but right now you're the one in more danger."

His voice was as childlike as his size, but the impression that left vanished when the small doctor reached into a bag he carried and began cleaning and bandaging Rosinante's wounds with the skill and speed of a professional. With that, the Marine finally managed to get his thoughts together. And contrary to what he thought when they explained why they were there, the first thing he said was not inquiring about who they were:

"Let me give him my coat, the bandages will be enough to keep me warm."

* * *

Doflamingo picked himself up out of the snow, and looked at the black figure that was approaching him. He forced his typical smile onto his face as he got to his feet; he was facing down a group of people who had claimed to be his bloodline's mortal enemies, who had come out of nowhere and had just demonstrated a ridiculous amount of strength that, even if he wasn't flinching out of shock, he probably wouldn't have been able to do more than parry.

If he was being honest, he was scared out of his mind. But his pride refused to yield to fear.

"D? You really think that that name means anything—?"

"Yes, I do. You really have no idea how screwed you are, Doflamingo."

"Yeah? Why don't you enlighten me?" the pirate captain said, grinning his typical grin and preparing a handful of strings, his mind desperately denying the man's words.

The figure reached into his cloak and pulled out…a cigarette. Doflamingo's smirk and tension faltered somewhat as the figure tossed back his hood, revealing a blond-haired man with a very curly eyebrow, and puffed out a cloud of smoke. Then he replied.

"Have it your way. Fourteen years from now, my crew had the good luck of saving an old man who had a Devil Fruit with the power of time, and he let us use his powers to set right something from the past. You see, young Trafalgar Law grew up to be a very successful pirate captain. He and my captain formed an alliance when they entered the New World, and they became good friends. But why wouldn't they? After all…they both bear the name of D."

Doflamingo's eyes widened even more, and his grimace returned. Still, he didn't move to attack yet, wanting to hear more of what the figure had to say.

"Law stayed our ally, and even though he never joined our crew, we learned enough about his past. How your brother Corazon found and fed him the Op-Op Fruit to save him. How you killed Corazon when you found out that he was a Marine. How Law spent the next thirteen years thinking of nothing but killing you in retaliation from taking the most important person in his life. I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I decided to come back here so the crew of the Pirate King could fight against the Donquixote Pirates for the second time. We beat your crew when you had thirteen more years to grow stronger."

The man then began spinning in the snow, and Doflamingo summoned all of the strings that he could. The man stopped spinning and lifted one of his legs, which was glowing like fire.

"Bottom line, Doflamingo? We're here to save Corazon and Law…and kill you."

The man leapt forward, and Doflamingo brought up his strings in a desperate attempt to attack and defend.

* * *

At the coast of Minion Island, a giant flamingo with sunglasses swam on the water's surface...or so it appeared from a distance. Closer inspection revealed it to be a ship, the Donquixote Pirates' Jolly Roger on the main mast, and two people standing guard on the deck. One was an attractive woman with blonde and orange hair, slim and ready with a rifle in her hands. The other was a handsome man wearing a suit, skilled in martial arts and equally poised to repel invaders. Not that either of them expected anything of the sort. Both had been waiting expectantly, their eyes locked on the island, when they saw their captain's Birdcage vanish. Several minutes passed in inactivity, however; finally, the woman broke the silence.

"Senor, you don't think Corazon actually fought the captain, do you?" she asked, a trace of concern in her tone.

"Hmph. If Vergo's report was right, I wouldn't expect anything else. But I seriously doubt we have anything to worry about, Jora; Corazon is strong, sure, but he's no match for our captain, let alone our captain _and_ everyone else on our crew at the same time."

He turned back to the island. "Still, though...I would have expected some sort of report by now; the Birdcage was probably made to keep whoever had the Op-Op Fruit from getting away, but rescinding it means that it's either already gone or already in hand. If nothing else, I'd think that Buffalo and Baby 5 would have made it back here to tell us. Maybe our captain is just too busy rejoicing at finally getting the key to—"

A loud THUD behind them interrupted his musings. Jora and he both turned to see a man carved up like a fine cut of meat...and then both of them recoiled as they recognized him.

"V-V-Vergo! What happened?! Who did this?!" Jora shrieked, looking around. Pink's eyes widened as a movement from overhead made him glance up...to see a thundercloud right above her.

"JORA—!"

That was as far as he got before lightning struck the ship with enough force to rock it, the bolt's focus being Jora herself. The woman stared blankly ahead as the lightning subsided, smoke coming out of her mouth as she fell slowly back, and hit the deck with a thud. Out cold, if not dead. Pink glowered as he surged towards the figure he had seen on the deck, only for another, much bigger figure to appear in front of it, a fist half the size of Pink's body outstretched and ready to punch. Pink leapt back, and observed the other side of the deck as the massive figure approached him, grimacing.

"Who are you?"

"We are allies of Trafalgar Law from when he became a pirate captain, sent fourteen years back in time thanks to a Devil Fruit power. I fought you once before, Senor Pink; it's your choice whether or not you believe me, but I want to tell you something about your future. We can fight afterwards, if that's what you want."

Pink grimaced, but remained still.

"When I met you, you always wore baby clothes and swim trunks. An accident with your wife left her in an unresponsive state, but when you wore your late son's clothes, it made her smile, and that was worth everything to you…but she died not long after that."

Pink froze as thoughts of his wife and son came to mind.

"…What are their names?" he asked, desperately hoping for the wrong answer.

"Russian and Gimlet," the man replied promptly.

"…What happened to them?" Pink asked quietly.

"Your son died while you were away. Your wife was devastated, and that was pretty much the end of your relationship."

Pink bowed his head, his eyes tearing up some before he looked back at the strange man.

"…And why are you telling me this?"

"The other members of our crew are still on the island. Doflamingo dies today, and the rest of the crew is going to be arrested. You have a family to live for. You have a future outside of this crew. That's why I'm offering you the chance to escape it, and rejoin your family. Will you accept it, or try to fight?"

Senor Pink's expression was unreadable. He took in the sights of his crewmates, sighed, and closed his eyes; his loyalties warred with each other, but he could see quite plainly that fighting these strangers would be suicidal. And even if this man was lying, the fact remained that he had a chance to escape never seeing Russian again…

"…What do I need to do?"

* * *

The frigid temperatures in which they fought offered Doflamingo no relief; he was sweating profusely as he unleashed every ounce of his power against the flaming man, who parried and dodged every blow with incredible speed and agility. He had yet to launch an attack after the initial kick, and Doflamingo was moving madly, using every bit of his abilities to attempt to kill the man. Every parry only infuriated him more, and as Doflamingo felt the slightest touch of fatigue coming upon him, his panic began to intensify.

"Wow. I knew you were going to be weaker before thirteen years of honing your skills, but this is pathetic; you're tired already?"

"SHUT UP!" Doflamingo roared, leaping back. Pouring all of the energy he could muster into his powers, he unleashed a construct reminiscent of the Birdcage from his hands, countless strings coalescing in his palms before splitting apart and spider-webbing out. Doflamingo felt a modicum of calm cool his rage as the man actually looked unnerved. The man moved forward, attempting to attack him again, and Doflamingo kept the birdcage focused on pursuing him while he dodged kick after kick, using every bit of energy he had left.

"I guess…I shouldn't have…underestimated you…" the man grumbled, dodging through countless strings in a way that made it clear he was a master of Observation.

"Insolent commoner, it serves you right; I possess the bloodline of royalty, and you dared to look down on—"

That was as far as he got before the man caught him off guard again, jumping into the air and then jumping _on_ the air, dancing through the sky before diving towards him, slipping through the strings and landing a kick directly in his solar plexus. The former noble flew back, impacting the snow, and his strings dissolved as he lost his focus, enabling the man to approach him. Doflamingo got to his feet again, glowering at the mark left on his chest, burned into his flesh like the brands of the slaves he had had so long ago.

"It looks like my kick was a little too spicy for you. Well, I'm satisfied with leaving a mark like that on you. No more playing around, Doflamingo. Captain, you're up."

The man vanished, and at the same instant, another hooded figure appeared in his place. Doflamingo sneered at him, mustering every bit of nerve he had left to stay defiant.

"So, you're the captain? You're the D? You're the one who wants to kill me for being the descendant of this world's creators?"

"Not really. I hate the World Nobles, but what happened way back then doesn't mean much to me. Sanji just said that because he knew that it would scare you," the man replied nonchalantly. Doflamingo's anger flared.

"That lying bastard—"

"Oh, no, he wasn't lying," the man said, removing his hood to show a young man with black hair, a small scar under one eye, and a face that would normally be hard to find threatening. Doflamingo, however, faced a pair of ferocious eyes that held cold fury within.

"Monkey D. Luffy, Pirate King. And like Sanji told you, I'm not going to kill you because of ancient history. I'm going to kill you because of what you did to Corazon, Trafalguy, and everyone on Dressrosa."

The man's face reddened, and then blackened, and then burst into flames along with the rest of his body. Doflamingo hardly had a second to react—or to think about how killing him for a future event rather than a past one made even less sense—before the man flew forward, his fists multiplying and severing the strings Doflamingo put in his path.

Every string he formed shattered as it struck the monstrous man before him, leaving him unable to do a thing as the D's fists and feet pummeled every square inch of his body. Doflamingo used all of the Haki, all of the strings, and all of the strength he had in an attempt to gain a slight advantage over him. But it was clear that this man was Roger's successor for a reason; after a minute, if that, the former noble's body refused to stand anymore. As he fell, the man turned his back.

"That was for my friends," he said coldly.

As Luffy began walking away, Doflamingo's breath came in staggered huffs as he tried to fuel his body with air. Even so, he felt the damage to his organs, his body too burned and fatigued to mend itself, and his blood slowly cooling in the icy weather. His mind grudgingly accepted the truth of the situation.

 _So, this is how it ends…even now, after losing all of the rights my lineage gave me, D is the bane of my existence…but…_

"…Pirate King…tell me," he managed, and the Pirate King turned back, looking at him emotionlessly.

"…You said…you hate the Nobles…with all the power…you have…an admiral would…be no threat…what happened…what did you do…to the World Nobles…in your time?" he asked whisperingly.

"They got what they deserved, every last one of them," Luffy responded venomously. As memories of his childhood lynching melded with the faces of the people he hated most, Doflamingo couldn't help but grin, and he started laughing.

"S…serves…those…bastards…right…"

His laughter slowly came to a choking halt, and as it was with his brother in another time, his final act served as the ultimate display of irony for his lineage.

Donquixote Doflamingo died smiling.

* * *

Rosinante now resembled nothing so much as a mummy with make-up, the young Law wearing his coat and clinging to him, sobbing with relief. The doctor had made short work of his injuries, and before he was finished, the other figures approached them again, each with a defeated member of the Donquixote Pirates.

Diamante's steel clothing had been shattered like glass, and several shards were embedded in his skin.

Pica's body was slashed from shoulder to hip, ice erupting from the gash.

Trebol, stripped of his mucus cloak, appeared even more emaciated than was normal.

Gladius' limbs had been subjected to a literally twisted attempt at artwork, and seemed unlikely to move effectively again.

Machvise had slashes and, strangely, green bite marks all over his body.

Lao G's form was charred and smoking, but it was difficult to tell if it was from electricity or something more explosive.

And finally, the strange crew's captain came back towards them, his hood down to reveal his face, and Doflamingo's lifeless body on his shoulder. Rosinante closed his eyes, but felt little regret; nothing short of death could have broken through Doflamingo's pride. Three of the figures were nowhere to be seen, but the other six refocused on the two of them as their captain approached; all still had their hoods up save for one man with blond hair covering one of his eyes, a small goatee and a very curly eyebrow. Young Law looked with relief at the figures, though he too seemed unnerved. Finally, one of the figures broke the silence.

"So, you're Trafalgar Law and Corazon, right?"

Rosinante looked at the speaker and sighed.

"…Please don't call me that; my name is Rosinante. And who are you?"

"The Straw Hat Pirates. You haven't heard of us," said the swordsman.

It wasn't a question, and both Law and Rosinante stared at them.

"You're right. And considering that you just slaughtered the Donquixote Pirates, that disturbs me. How have you gone without getting noticed with how powerful you are?"

"Easy: we've only existed for the last twenty minutes or so. Our crew isn't going to form for another eleven years," said the captain.

The two-man audience continued to stare, now looking a bit more deadpan, and the blond man sighed, and turned his eye on Law.

"All right, I'll be more specific: we came here from the future thanks to an old man's Devil Fruit powers. In our time, nobody was here to save Cora—Rosinante from dying. You managed to get away alive, and swore vengeance on Doflamingo for killing the one who saved your life. You formed the Heart Pirates and became one of the most notorious pirates of the era, known to everyone as the Surgeon of Death. Our crew and yours formed into an alliance when we entered the New World, and through that, Doflamingo's criminal empire that he spent over a decade building was destroyed in a single day, and he was arrested. Our crews remained allies to the end, which is why we came back here. Law, your future is back in your hands; once you've gotten control of your abilities and removed the Amber Lead from your body, you'll be free to live your life however you choose."

Law looked at them with scrutiny.

"What are you getting out of this?" he asked.

"A chance to help a friend go through a better past. What more reason would we need?" said the blond man.

Rosinante looked at him with more respect.

"You're no ordinary pirates."

"And proud of it. Now, let's get back to your ship; the rest of our crew should be finished by now."

"Jinbe, you carry Cor—Rosinante and Law," said the doctor. Rosinante had no time to object before one of the larger figures complied, and the next thing he knew he was moving at an absurd speed. The bandages mercifully muffled the wind chill, but for the life of him, he couldn't comprehend where they were going. The rushing lasted for a minute or so before he opened his eyes to find himself on the deck of the Donquixote Pirates' ship. The other three figures were there already, and he saw Vergo and Jora both lying passed out on the deck, severely injured. Senor Pink, however, stood a ways off, watching the interactions in plain sight and doing nothing.

"So, Pink agreed, Franky?" asked the blond man.

"Yeah. Now all we have to do is make sure that we find a way out of this for them before our time is up. Any ideas?" asked another man, with blue hair in a buzzcut and a nose that looked to be made out of metal.

Silence fell for a few moments while the man contemplated, during which Rosinante looked around at the other figures, their hoods now down. The two others on the ship were a young woman with long orange hair and a young man with green hair and one eye apparently missing. The one who had brought them there was a fishman with blue skin and two fangs protruding from his mouth. The captain, a young man with black hair and a small scar under one eye, had almost a carefree look about him now, but Rosinante didn't forget that he was the one who killed Doflamingo.

The others were assorted in normalcy: a woman with black hair and a calm countenance, a long-nosed young man that was looking around the ship, perhaps for potential enemies, a furry creature with antlers that was keeping his eyes on them—the doctor, he realized—and a...Rosinante rubbed his eyes, and looked again. Yes, that was a skeleton with a black afro. Interesting.

"Hey, Sanji! I see a Marine ship coming this way; it'll be here in about twenty minutes at this pace," called the long-nosed man, staring into the distance.

The blond man seemed to concentrate for a moment, and then his visible eye widened. "It's Tsuru. That'll work. All right, prepare to set sail!"

The Straw Hats' casual lounging ceased at that moment, and they moved to their positions quickly. The orange-haired woman sighed happily.

"Oh, it's such a nice break to navigate in one of the Blues instead of the Grand Line. Usopp, what's the heading?"

"Due southwest," the long-nosed man called back.

As the crew managed to get the ship on track, Senor Pink approached Rosinante and Law. Both looked at him curiously.

"Why exactly did they spare you?" Rosinante asked.

"I have a family outside of this crew, and according to that cyborg, both are due to die because I won't be there for them. Whether or not he's telling the truth, I wouldn't be there for them if I was in prison, so I'm cutting my losses," he replied quietly.

Their conversation halted as the captain of the crew came over, and Pink hastily backed away, not wanting to be anywhere near the man. His eyes fell on the child still hugging Rosinante.

"So, you're Trafalguy as a kid, huh?" he asked, smiling in a carefree way. Law blinked.

"Um, nobody's ever called me that, but...yeah. I don't think I got your name, though."

"Oh, sorry. I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" Luffy said, the grin growing. The blond man walked closer as he heard that.

"Yeah, we sort of skipped over the introductions, didn't we? I'm Sanji," he said.

"Tony Tony Chopper," piped up the doctor.

"Roronoa Zoro," said the swordsman, resting against one of the sides of the ship.

"Usopp," said the long-nosed man, still looking ahead towards the ship that only he could see.

"Nami," said the apparent navigator, almost lazily checking their course.

"Franky," said the man with the buzz cut.

"Nico Robin," said the black-haired woman.

"Jinbe," said the fishman.

"Brook," said the skeleton.

Rosinante and Law both took that in, and then Rosinante spoke up.

"OK, first of all, how is a skeleton walking around? Second, Chopper, why are you staying in your Zoan form? And third...is that the same Nico Robin that has a 79 million Berry bounty?" Rosinante asked.

"In that order," Robin replied, her voice as chilling as the breeze. "Brook ate the Revive-Revive Fruit. It took a year for him to find his way back to his body after his soul returned, resulting in the decay that you see. Chopper was originally a reindeer; he ate the Human-Human Fruit, giving him the mental faculties of a human. And I am the same Nico Robin, but the reports of my past have been greatly exaggerated."

She came to stand directly next to the two of them, and Rosinante swallowed.

"The truth behind Ohara is much the same as the truth behind Flevance," she stated. Law looked up at her with awe and horror.

"You...what do you mean?" he asked.

"Ohara and Flevance both made the World Government panic, resulting in the country's destruction. The scholars of Ohara only sought knowledge...but I suppose that you of all people know how dangerous that is," Robin stated, looking back at Rosinante. The Marine's eyes widened, and then closed as he sighed.

"...The Blank Century...what exactly are you saying?"

"I'm saying that due to the fact that Ohara's scholars learned how to read the Poneglyphs and learned too much about the Void Century, and only because of that knowledge, the World Government destroyed the island with a Buster Call. One of the Vice Admirals who led the attack, Sakazuki, destroyed the evacuation ship for everyone who wasn't a scholar, unwilling to take the slightest risk that a scholar could escape. I, the youngest and newest of the scholars, was the only survivor, and that was only because Vice Admiral Kuzan, horrified from the display of Absolute Justice, rescued me. But my picture still ended up on a wanted poster, with lies following me that I wanted to destroy the world, and had destroyed six battleships with my powers."

Law looked disgusted, and Rosinante only slightly less than that; he was less willing to believe it immediately, but not much considering both the fact that these pirates had saved his life and Law's and the fact that the World Government had been that ruthless with Flevance.

"...I will see what I can do to correct this. I don't know how much I can do, but I'll do what I can," Rosinante said firmly.

"Shishishishi! You're a nice guy, Rosie!" Luffy chuckled.

"...What did you just call me?" Rosinante said, his face red from embarrassment.

"Rosie? I like it," Law said, smiling. The former pirate sighed, and several of the pirates onboard laughed; even Pink snickered.

"So, how did we meet?" Law asked the captain.

"We fought together against some Marines on Sabaody, then you saved my life at Marineford in the middle of a war between the Marines and Whitebeard. Then we—"

"Wait, wait, what was that?" Rosinante asked incredulously.

"A pirate captured one of the Whitebeard Pirates' division commanders and turned him over to the World Government to become a Warlord. They decided to execute him...meaning that they declared war on Whitebeard. The costs outweighed the benefits for both sides in the end," Sanji said solemnly.

Rosinante looked at the crew, all of whom had dark looks on their faces.

"...You were there?"

"I was," Luffy said quietly. "The commander that they executed...was my big brother. I almost saved him."

"...Why didn't you go back in time to save him instead of us?" Law asked, albeit hesitantly.

"Oh, we did," Nami said. "The old man who let us use his powers let each of us choose one time period to go back to. Luffy's was first, but it's not changing anything in the future we come from."

"Still, it was worth it to be able to save Ace," Luffy said, smiling again. Law took that in, and made a note of that in his mind; he knew already that he'd have to pay Luffy back in this time one day. Now he knew the perfect way.

"I'm sorry. Um...what were you saying before, after the whole thing with the war?"

"Oh, yeah. You and I formed into a pirate alliance when I came into the New World. We took down Mingo and three of the Emperors together."

Law and Rosinante's eyes bulged. "THREE EMPERORS?"

The following explanation lasted for several minutes, during which Law found himself almost unconsciously warming up to the crew around him. Rosinante was fully unconscious of it, hearing the feats that the crew and Law got up to in another time. Hearing that Law had called his crew the Heart Pirates and had a Jolly Roger akin to Doflamingo's was humbling for him, and he reaffirmed that he would stay with Law from then on, whatever he chose. As the tale of their adventures with Law drew to a close, they began talking about when their crew formed, and had just reached the culmination of their time in the East Blue when Usopp brought the conversation to an abrupt end.

"Ship ahoy! I'll prepare the signal," he shouted. Luffy's expression darkened slightly, and he replaced his hood.

"Rosie, you'll need to explain this to Tsuru. But don't tell her anything about who we are, not even our names."

Rosinante nodded slowly, and got to his feet. He paused, and then looked back at the captain.

"In the event that I need another Marine's help to make things that you told me right, is there anyone that I can trust?"

Luffy was silent for a moment.

"...If you have to, talk to Vice Admiral Garp. If anyone high up in the Marines would be willing to bend the rules for what's right, it would be him."

* * *

"Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Donquixote Pirates are sailing straight towards us!"

The vice admiral raised her eyebrows as she heard the report, and approached the edge of the ship to see the iconic flamingo. She frowned slightly, and prepared to give the order to fire. Before the words left her mouth, however, a light shot from the other boat, exploding in the air to form a signal that she recognized. Her eyes widened slightly, and she turned back to her crew.

"Hold your fire and continue our course towards them. Drop anchor when we come beside them."

The crew complied, and Tsuru watched with stoic silence as the ship drew closer. As she came up alongside them, she found herself faced with a very unexpected sight. Rosinante stood nearest the ship's side, heavily injured and bandaged. Beside him was a young boy with white patches on his skin, looking fatigued and wearing Rosinante's fur jacket. Behind them were the Donquixote Pirates, ten out of the eleven of them knocked out or dead, alongside an equally unconscious figure in a Marine outfit. Behind _them_ were ten figures in black outfits that obscured their entire bodies. She blinked once, then twice. Then she spoke.

"Commander Rosinante, explain this."

The man bowed slightly, gripping his midsection and wincing as he did so, and spoke.

"When Doflamingo learned that I had taken the Op-Op Fruit, he deployed his Birdcage technique, and then he and his crew confronted me. He planned on killing me, but the cloaked crew you see behind me saved us. Doflamingo is dead, and the remainder of his crew, save for Senor Pink, is subdued and ready for arrest, including the Marine mole Vergo. I request leniency, however, for the three children who are part of the crew, in hopes that they will be able to turn away from piracy willingly."

Tsuru raised an eyebrow, almost absentmindedly gesturing some of her subordinates to board and restrain the pirates.

"Leaving aside the strangeness of this crew for the moment, why are you excluding that man from the rest of the pirates?"

The man in question spoke in a subdued voice.

"I have a wife and child on another island. This crew…they offered to spare me so that I could return to them if I foreswore my loyalty to the Donquixote Pirates. I didn't have much choice in the end, as you can see; all I want now is to return to my family."

Tsuru looked at the man with scrutiny, and then glanced at Rosinante.

"You can trust him, Vice Admiral Tsuru. He keeps his word."

The woman exhaled.

"You're lucky that Sengoku himself trusts you, Rosinante. So be it; with your current assignment completed, you'll be a probation officer for him until further notice. And what of the boy?" she added, glancing at the child, who moved slightly closer to Rosinante.

"This is Trafalgar Law. I've been trying to cure him of a fatal illness he contracted, but didn't make any headway until now, when I managed to get the Op-Op Fruit. He's already eaten it."

Tsuru looked at the man with scrutiny for a few seconds more before turning her gaze on Law.

"And what do you intend to do, young man, once you've cured yourself?"

Law shrugged.

"I don't know; I've spent the last few years with the Donquixote Pirates, thinking I'd die before I could make anything of my life. I do plan on being a doctor, though," he said.

"And your family?"

"Gone," he spat. "Rosie is all I have now."

Tsuru brought a hand to her mouth to hide her amusement at the nickname, and she heard several of her crew stifle laughter behind her, as well as several on the other boat. She looked back at Rosinante again, and upon seeing the determined look in his eyes behind the blush, she sighed.

"Very well, I'll leave him to your care, Rosinante. Now…who are all of you?" she asked, turning her gaze towards the cloaked figures.

"We came here to destroy the Donquixote Pirates. That's all that you need to know," said one of the figures, male by his voice, only to receive a kick upside the head from another one.

"Show some respect, Mosshead!"

The other figure was halfway through drawing his swords before he sighed.

"Fine, it's your choice how this whole thing goes, Dartboard. But do you really think it's a good idea to spill our guts to _her_?"

"You know damn well that even now, she's about as trustworthy as a Marine can get. We're just lucky that it wasn't a bastard like Sakazuki that showed up," the other man replied, and Tsuru cut in.

"From your conversation, you're not Marines. What are you, then? Part of a Cipher Police unit?"

"Hell no," spat one of the bigger figures.

"We're pirates," said the kicking man. All of the Marines aboard tensed and readied their weapons as they heard that, and Tsuru crossed her arms.

"Pirates, hmm? You don't seem particularly hostile; what are your intentions?"

"Like we said, we're only here to take out the Donquixote Pirates and save Law and Rosinante. We have no other purpose here."

Tsuru tapped her fingers on one arm, clearly expecting elaboration. Another figure, a female by her voice, sighed and spoke.

"We're from the future, sent back here thanks to a Devil Fruit power from an old man we met. Long story short, in our time Rosinante was killed, Doflamingo became a nightmare, and Law swore revenge. He became a pirate captain, and eventually he sought an alliance with our crew to take down Doflamingo. We succeeded."

Tsuru blinked, a bit taken aback from the information. She spared Law another glance, but shook off thoughts of what would have been; he was under Rosinante's wing now, she had nothing to worry about.

"I see. It would seem that you have succeeded in your mission, then. So…now what? I'm not sure I'm entirely willing to let a group of ridiculously powerful pirates go free."

"You don't really have any say in the matter; you may be powerful, but you're not Garp or Sengoku, and no other Marine is in our league," said another female figure. Tsuru's eyes widened as the implication sunk in.

"But any fighting between us would be a waste of time even if we weren't out of your league; the power that sent us here will remain in effect for no longer than another half hour. We'll be gone as soon as that time expires, and you'll never see us again until our crew forms in this time, which is over a decade away," she continued.

Tsuru felt herself relax at hearing that.

"I will admit that that's reassuring. Even so, if you don't have anything else to take care of in this time period, then I'll have to insist on you spending the remainder of it here," Tsuru replied.

"Fair enough. So, where's your kitchen? I'd like to whip something up for this cold weather," asked the kicking man, so casually that most of the Marines onboard looked at him as though he were insane.

"Yes, everyone, he is. We all are. You'd be better off adjusting to it now," said the first female tiredly.

* * *

Despite Sanji's food and Brook's music being of a quality that made even Tsuru smile, the atmosphere on the ship didn't quite make it to that of a party. Tsuru's Marines weren't exactly willing to relax in the presence of pirates that were intimidating enough to make _her_ hesitate to fight them, and likewise, despite their confidence in their abilities, the mysterious pirates showed no desire to provoke Tsuru themselves, and the fact that they refused to remove their hoods to show their faces even now made it clear that they weren't prepared to relax either.

That said, it was far from unpleasant; Tsuru's crew let their guards down enough to enjoy the atmosphere, and the fact that the Donquixote Pirates were no longer anything to worry about was welcome news in any case. Rosinante, Law, and Pink were off to one side of the ship, enjoying their meals from a distance. Once the dessert course was served, Sanji lingered beside them.

"So, what do you think is next for you guys?"

Rosinante and Law looked back up at the hooded face, but Pink responded before they could.

"Did you really come back here to save me along with Cor—Rosinante and Law?"

"I never even met you, Pink; Franky was the one who fought you this time and last time, and he was the one who wanted to give you a chance," Sanji replied neutrally.

Pink nodded, still not looking at Sanji.

"…Are you going to be OK?"

"…Franky told me that my son died while I was away. I must not have told him what caused it, because he couldn't tell me. I'm worried; sure, I have a family to go back to now, but what if things go wrong again? I'll have nothing left," he said quietly.

"We're still here, Senor," Law spoke up. "Rosie and I. We all have things to get through now that Doflamingo is dead."

Rosinante suppressed a sigh, having given up for the time being on trying to make Law drop that nickname. His gaze turned also to Pink, however.

"Law is right. We were family in the crew. We can still be family if you want to," he said, extending a hand. Pink regarded it for a moment before giving a slight smile and taking it.

"I suppose I've got nothing to lose," he said. With that, Law turned to Sanji.

"I forgot to ask earlier; what was I like when I was older?"

"Hmm…youthful, fit, usually smiling, often without showing much emotion…up until you wound up allying with us. Spend too much time with the Straw Hat Pirates, and even the most stoic of people find that they're not so above it all."

Law raised an eyebrow.

"Besides that, you were captain of your own ship, a submarine that had top-of-the-line medical equipment, with a crew of 20 following you. I think you were due to meet your first crewmate a little after setting out alone, a bear named Bepo from the island of Zo."

That piqued Law's interest, as well as Rosinante's and Pink's.

"Zo? How did he ever get one of those savage minks to follow him?"

"I'm not sure I ever got that story; I was busy dealing with ghosts from my past at the time—"

"On Swallow Island, right after Corazon's death, Law wandered into a town and beat up a couple of delinquents that were beating up Bepo," Franky cut in from nearby. "All three joined him, impressed by his strength."

"...Huh," Sanji stated. "Well, looks like you'll be meeting your new friends sooner than later. But bottom line? You were just as successful and skilled a pirate as you were a doctor, though surgery was always your strong suit."

Law nodded, a small smile on his face.

"Sanji, was it? Enlighten me: why exactly did you come to save me? You just glossed over it earlier," Rosinante asked.

"…When I was a kid, I wound up in a shipwreck. The only person who survived with me was an old pirate captain, who went out of his way to save my life from and keep me alive until we were rescued; he even gave up his leg for me. The old man and I had a love-hate relationship, but he made me who I am today. You had just as much of an effect on Law, so besides the fact that we hated Doflamingo, I thought it would make a good difference if Law actually had someone he could call a father."

Rosinante flushed slightly, but nodded. "Thank you."

Sanji nodded, and then spun off to serve second desserts to the ladies of both of the crews.

Tsuru sat a distance away from the others, next to a hooded Nami and Robin.

"My, my. Your crew seems like quite the easygoing bunch," Tsuru remarked, actually chuckling despite herself.

"We always have been. I always hated pirates before I found this crew, but the captain made an impression on me; it's amazing how being with these guys can just make all of your worries wash away," Nami said fondly.

"I can support that also; I had two decades' worth of pain and distrust when I came to this crew, and it took less than two months for me to all but forget it."

Tsuru hmmed.

"I was more referring to the ease with which you're relaxing among a crew of Marines, even if you do outclass us."

"Honestly, the Marines made themselves our enemies," Nami said. "Up until our captain got his bounty, the only Marines he ever attacked were corrupt, and even after that, we were never the ones to start the conflict unless you count the fact that we existed."

She turned to face Tsuru, though her face remained hidden.

"Honestly, I'm surprised that the Marines don't have some kind of tolerance policy for pirates who are more interested in adventure and freedom than gold and plundering."

"It's too bad we don't fall under that category, or at least you don't," Robin remarked.

"Hey! I only stole treasure when nobody claimed it or it belonged to other pirates!" Nami objected. Tsuru chuckled again, drawing their attention.

"I will admit that I've seen many pirate crews in my lifetime that would be much more valuable if we formed truces with them, beyond the Warlord contract. Unfortunately, my superiors have a zero tolerance policy against pirates, with Warlords and, to a lesser extent, Emperors being the only exceptions."

"Hmm. I can't really understand why; even among the Emperors, there's not one who stands a chance of both making it to Raftel and discovering all of the secrets there, and not merely because they either have no interest in or no chance of claiming the throne," Robin said.

Tsuru looked scrutinizingly at the woman.

"You say that as though you've discovered the secret yourself."

"We have, and it was within your lifetime. And when all was said, done, and revealed…you were one of those who chose to ally against the Government. You're one of the truly good Marines, who will come in increasingly short supply over the next several years. I suggest that you pay particular attention to the one named Sakazuki."

Tsuru's expression was unreadable as she stared back at the women beside her. Her gaze shifted to Rosinante.

"I was under the impression that you came here to save Rosinante's life, and nothing more."

"That was our initial intention, but if you had knowledge on how to improve things and had a full hour in the past to do so, would you refrain from taking every opportunity?" Robin asked quietly.

"You have a point," Tsuru replied with equal softness. Her eyes narrowed as she refocused on Robin.

"Are you certain that you will never return to this time period?"

"Barring the unlikely but possible chance of us running into the Devil Fruit user who sent us here again and hearing that we could help by coming back, no, we will not return."

Tsuru nodded as she got to her feet, walking into the depths of the ship without another word. Many stared after her, wondering exactly what she planned on doing. Such was a question that the Straw Hats would never know the answer to, as they began to shine the next moment.

"Time to go already? My, how time flies," Brook remarked. The ten of them gathered together and faced Law and Rosinante once more.

"We knew you as a friend, and one of the best pirates we ever met, either way you interpret the word. But your future is in your hands now, Law; you're free to be whatever you choose to be. But whatever you do, never forget who your friends are…and never forget who _you_ are," Sanji said.

Law nodded firmly, and Rosinante and Pink spoke in unison.

"Thank you for saving me."

They exchanged glances, but the future crew nodded in unison. And with that, the light went out, and the pirates with it.

 **Whether or not Tsuru actually allies with them when the inevitable war comes near the series end, I don't know, but I find it to be a likely outcome; she strikes me as one of the decent Marines. That said, I sincerely hope that this chapter was worth the wait.**

 **What I stated about the Emperors not wanting to find One Piece...well, we know that Whitebeard just wanted a family, Shanks has already been to Raftel, and Kaido seems to have no interest in the world in general if his introduction is any indication. Big Mom is the only one that hasn't given any indication that she doesn't want to claim One Piece, and even in her case, I think she's content as she is now.**

 **One more thing before I end this off, towards those of you who have inquired again about me continuing these storylines as they are. Allow me to reiterate what I said before: I consider my skills insufficient to do justice to such storylines, and consequently, I sincerely hope that one with more talent than I expresses a desire to continue one of them. A couple of people have already done so, though they're presently occupied with other projects. Even so, I compare my work to such examples of greatness in the One Piece fandom as those done by Xomniac, The-Lost-Samurai, F-ckthesystem125, DuncanIdaho2014, serpentguy, HeroR, Pizza yum, X-Chick303 and, of course, The-Victor. And I see a chasm in talent that I cannot yet cross. Unless and until that time comes, therefore, I must leave the option of continuing these tales open to those on the other side.**

 **I believe that's all for now. As always, thanks to my beta, lunanime. If you have time, PLEASE leave a review; I thrive on constructive criticism. I'm reasonably certain that Robin's chapter will not take nearly as long to write, but we shall see what happens; in the event that it takes longer than anticipated, may we always remember that Patience is a virtue.**


	12. Ohara

**My apologies for taking so long with this chapter, but when I brainstormed ideas for Blueh, I didn't have all of my facts straight. My intention was to simply have Robin contact Dragon, and use the resources of the Revolutionary Army to help them disappear. 'Twas a simple yet elegant solution, no? But if the story's implications are to be believed, Dragon didn't have anywhere close to the resources he needed at that time. So, how could I go about saving Ohara and all that it was without that haven?**

 **After pondering for weeks, inspiration finally struck for the perfect solution that only the Straw Hats could provide. And so, it is with great pleasure that I finally present the penultimate chapter of my story. I hope you enjoy it.**

"So, it's my turn at last."

The cold determination in Robin's voice rang out before the light had even finished fading. Looking around, the ten members of the Straw Hat Pirates beheld a small clearing surrounded by trees. It was of a mild and pleasant climate, the peacefulness spoiled only by the panic that their advanced senses picked up a short distance away, and the sight of ten Marine battleships off of the coast.

"So, this is Ohara? Not a very big island," Luffy said, earning a whack from Nami.

"Be a little more sensitive, Luffy!" she scolded.

"So, dear Robin, what's your plan?" Sanji asked quietly. The archaeologist turned back to them, and though their hoods remained up as they had been in the previous jump, they could feel her cold determination.

"My first thought was simply to save the island and then contact Dragon, but this is twenty years in the past; he will not have the resources to help for at least another decade. I'm quite relieved that I've had this long to consider it; we will need all the time we have to ensure the island's safety."

"So, should we just take out those battleships now?" Franky asked.

"Let me see precisely when we are first," Robin replied.

She crossed her arms, and after several seconds, spoke clearly and sharply.

"The Buster Call has already been invoked, there's no time to lose. Nami, head to the Tree of Knowledge, the giant tree in the middle of the island. Put out the fires, but do not be seen until you're finished."

"On it," Nami said before Shaving away.

"Luffy, knock out all the Marines you can with your Haki. Jinbe, create currents to ensure that the ships don't have a clear line of fire. Brook, disarm the cannons, and use as little ice as possible. Be as subtle as you can be; don't fight unless you must, don't let the other ships realize anything is amiss until it's too late, and don't attack Sakazuki's ship yet."

"What? Why are we sparing _him_?" Luffy growled.

"We're not. We're waiting for him to try to make his move on 'absolute justice' and attempt to blow up the evacuation ship. When he does that, Luffy, intercept the cannonball for all to see, _then_ kill him. Afterwards, order the civilians to drop the anchor of the ship, and wait for me onboard. Brook, Jinbe, once the battleships are left powerless, rejoin Nami."

The three nodded, and vanished.

"Zoro. Find Kuzan, and bring him to the Tree of Knowledge to ensure he witnesses everything. Sanji, a giant named Saul, an old friend of mine, is on this island; do the same for him."

"That should be fun," Zoro remarked. Both he and Sanji expanded their senses for a few moments before Shaving away in different directions.

"Usopp, Franky, follow after Nami; as soon as the fire is out, we're going to perform a modified Zunisha conversion."

"Zunisha conversion?!" Franky barked in disbelief. "Even for just the basics, a whole day wouldn't be enough time, let alone an hour! This better be some serious modification you have in mind, Robin."

The reply she gave made the eyes of all who heard widen, followed by identical grins, all still hidden beneath the hoods.

"How did we never think of doing that?" Franky laughed. "Robin, you—"

"As much as I appreciate the compliments, time is not on our side," Robin cut in.

"Uh, right. We're gone!" Usopp said hastily before vanishing, Franky following him.

"Chopper, you're with me. Professor Clover is injured…as is my mother. As soon as they're treated, you'll help the others with the conversion."

And with that, the final two disappeared.

* * *

"Hurry up! Protect the books!"

Every scholar in the grandest library the world had ever seen had the same dark thoughts in their minds towards the World Government, the ones who had set their treasure on fire. Hands moved at breakneck speeds to rescue the books from the shelves, water buckets being passed around as fast as they could manage, all while the fire slowly consumed the Tree of Knowledge at speeds far faster than the dozens of scholars could keep up with.

"Don't let a single—AGH!" one scholar cut off, as he abruptly became very wet. He glanced behind him in irritation. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE THROWING THAT—water?"

He trailed off as he took in the fact that it was not someone being careless with a water bucket that got him wet. Everyone else in the library had likewise slowed to a stop as they observed the bizarre phenomenon: clouds had formed in the top of the tree, and rain was falling down in a cascade. The fire that threatened their precious books was out in less than a minute, and the rain ceased at the same time.

"That should work," came a female voice. All present snapped their attention to a high balcony in the tree, where an enigmatic figure stood. That she was female they knew only because of the voice; her entire body was covered in black garments, with a strange staff as her only discernable feature.

As quickly as she appeared, she vanished, only to reappear by their sides a second later. Anyone who still had water buckets dropped them.

"Short explanation: I can control the weather, and I'm here to help. You'll get the long explanation once the rest of my crew has destroyed the Buster Call," she said to the dumbstruck scholars. With the threat of their books burning up remarkably gone, they couldn't bring themselves to do more than gape.

"Nami!"

Until a borderline frantic call came from near the doorway, and two more equally enigmatic figures, one shaped normally and one decidedly not, came up to her.

"What is it, guys?" the woman asked.

"We need your help, now. Robin's plan is to—"

The speaker cut himself off with a glance at the scholars, then moved closer and began to whisper. Seven seconds later, the first figure—Nami, apparently—turned back towards the scholars.

"GET ME THE MOST DETAILED MAP OF THIS ISLAND THAT YOU HAVE, NOW!" she screamed.

The scholars found themselves complying before they knew what they were doing. Nami, meanwhile, grumbled to the other two figures.

"Damn it, Robin…is it doable? Yes. Is it brilliant? Absolutely. Is it exasperating that she couldn't have told me this any sooner so I could have planned for it more? HELL YES!"

The other two flinched away from her; fortunately for them, one of the scholars returned at that moment, laying out a large and detailed map of the island.

The other scholars looked with interest as Nami removed her hood, showing a young woman with long orange hair. She scanned over the map for a moment before snatching a nearby pen and beginning to mark over the map.

"Hey, what do you think you're—?"

The unfortunate speaker quickly shut up in response to the glare that Nami sent their way. She sighed as she went back to poring over the map.

"Sorry, but I have a lot to do and only a little time to do it; it'd be one thing if we were just saving you all from the Buster Call, but Robin's determined to save the whole island, especially this library. And we don't have enough time or resources to build or obtain a reliable ship and unload all of these books onto it. So, that only leaves one option."

"And…that would be?" another scholar asked. Nami set the pen down hard as she presented the map to the other two.

"Usopp, Franky, get digging."

The two nodded, and vanished the next instant. Nami shook her head as she glanced back at the scholars, finally answering the question.

"That would be moving the entire island so that the World Government can't find it."

Most of the scholars were distinctly confused, but one of them managed to speak up again.

"You keep mentioning the name Robin. You don't…you can't mean _Nico_ Robin?"

Nami smiled again. "Like I said, we'll explain everything once the Buster Call is dealt with. Now, I suggest all of you start securing this tree, and hurry up; otherwise, you're going to have to do a lot of picking up once we've moved the island, it's not going to be a smooth transition."

Nami vanished again before the scholars could question her further. Nobody moved for a few moments.

"I think we should do what she said," one of the scholars said, looking around for things they could use to secure the library and its contents. The others soon followed.

* * *

"Oh, what am I supposed to do now?" groaned an orange-haired giant, observing the battleships from the coast, sweat pouring down his face as he sensed the killing intent of all those aboard. He felt their franticness, the Buster Call had been invoked...what was he going to do?

"...Robin," he breathed. He shook his head and turned to head deeper into the island, starting to run. "I've gotta make sure she gets clear of this mess! Those cannonballs are gonna hit everywhere!"

"Saul, I take it?"

Saul screeched to a stop as he turned towards the source of the voice. A man stood there, clothed in black from head to finger to foot, not a single part of him identifiable.

"Robin sent me to get you. She wants you to witness when the World Government learns exactly how dangerous a woman scorned can be," he said calmly.

"...Who are you?"

"My name is Sanji," he replied, removing his hood to reveal a blonde-haired man with a very curly eyebrow covering his one visible eye. "I'm the chef of a crew known as the Straw Hat Pirates, and we're here to save Ohara from destruction. Robin met us three years ago, and talked us into making her an honorary crewmate. She asked that I bring you to the Tree of Knowledge so you can witness all of this."

"...Why would a group of pirates know Robin? She's just an eight-year-old girl!" Saul said incredulously. Despite that, however, he could tell with his Haki that the man was sincere.

"An eight-year-old girl with a doctorate degree in archaeology. Are you really surprised that she would know us?" Sanji asked dryly.

"Mmm...fair point, I guess. All right, lead the way...but I'm watching you," the giant rumbled darkly. Sanji chuckled as he replaced his hood, and Shaved away.

"...Smart aleck, does he expect a giant to be able to Shave?" Saul growled before beginning to run again.

* * *

Vice Admiral Kuzan stared with cold impassiveness at the island as he moved to the bow of the ship. He silently regretted the transgressions of his friend Saul for choosing to ally with the scholar, contrary to his orders. Olvia must have swayed him...no matter. He hoped, however, that he'd never cross paths with Saul again, forcing him to exercise his authority as a Marine, and arrest or execute him.

He shook his head to clear it as he prepared to give the order to fire the cannons. But as the words came to the tip of his tongue, a chill severely different from that which his powers made him used to made him stop. Making the connection immediately, he turned around, and was greeted with the sight of every Marine on deck falling unconscious. Eyes narrowing, part of his form turned to ice as his senses locked on to the one responsible, who appeared on the deck a moment later.

The individual was clothed purely in black, not a speck of flesh visible beneath his garments. He did not move from where he stood.

"My, my. You're quite bold, attacking a ship with a Vice Admiral onboard. But that Haki of yours gives me the feeling that you know a thing or two...who are you?" he asked coldly.

"The Pirate King," he replied without hesitation. Kuzan blinked before shaking his head.

"I was asking a serious question—"

That was as far as he got before the figure positively _flew_ forward, the ice-man's Haki barely responding in time for him to notice the attack before it hit him. His reflexes proved to be too slow even with that advantage, however; one solid punch made him cough up blood, and sent him flying clear off of the ship.

The next thing he knew, he was crashing against a sandy beach. His mind processed with ease that he was on the island of Ohara now, and he grimaced as he prepared to freeze a way back to his ship. Then his Haki alerted him to another presence, and he turned around.

"Looks like my captain got a little exuberant," said the figure nonchalantly, clothed identically to the man who had sent him flying. "Ah, well, I can't Moonwalk, so it's for the better that he sent you over here. I need you to come with me."

"Or what?" Kuzan said, his tone on par with dry ice as he began to transform.

"Or else you'll never know who we are."

The unexpected response gave Kuzan pause.

"...What do you want?" he asked, his voice still cold.

"It's not what we want that matters here. It's what our crewmate wants. And what she wants is for you to be there while she saves this island. She wants you to hear the whole explanation that we're going to give the scholars. We can fight if you want, but it would just make more work for our doctor."

Kuzan's eyebrows rose; he had no doubts that the man was as strong as he implied after what he saw from his captain. That wasn't the surprising part of what he said.

"You would give medical treatment to an enemy?"

The figure shrugged. "You follow Moral Justice. That's good enough for us."

Kuzan considered that. Then, slowly, the ice around his body began to recede.

"Fine. I'll play along for now."

"Good. Now, please tell me that you can Shave, I don't want to have to carry you the whole way."

* * *

The eight-year-old Nico Robin had tears cascading down her face as she stared at the retreating agents and the white-haired woman that she was sure was her mother. On top of Professor Clover being shot, Saul's warning that the island was going to be destroyed, and the Tree of Knowledge beginning to burn, the woman denying that she was her long-lost mother was too much. Far above too much, in fact; her world was crumbling apart around her, and as a memory of a happy family came into her mind, her heart broke, and she could handle no more.

"It's me! It's Robin!" she yelled pleadingly. "I've grown since the last time, so maybe you don't recognize me! I've been waiting for you all these years!"

The woman stopped walking.

"Are you sure?! You're really…not my mom?!"

The woman collapsed to her knees, apparently sobbing.

"Just once, someday, I wanted to hold your hand, and walk together like a family," Robin sobbed. "I studied hard...to become an archaeologist...so I could go to sea with you! I can read the Poneglyphs, too!"

Explosions echoed from far off, and the lead agent and Clover reacted incredulously to her words. Robin barely noticed, her eyes only on the white-haired woman, who was now clearly crying.

"SO, PLEASE LOOK AT ME! LET ME STAY WITH YOU! MOM!"

"Robin…" the woman said quietly, but to Robin it was as clear as day.

"I'VE WAITED SO LONG! WE'RE FINALLY TOGETHER! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE AGAIN!"

"She won't."

Robin jumped, and then looked beside her, where a figure clad in pure black stood. Her voice sounded exactly like her mother's.

"Wh—WHO ARE YOU? GET AWAY FROM ROBI—!" came the voice of Ohara's chief scholar.

"Calm down, Professor Clover, and try to hold still; our doctor is here to treat you," the woman said calmly.

Slowly, almost grudgingly, Robin turned her eyes away from her mother and looked back at Professor Clover. He was lying on his back again, his upper garments had been removed, and he was being bandaged up by a smaller figure, also clad in black.

"Who…who are you?" Robin hiccupped.

"We'll tell you that later; for now, just know that we're here to save you," the smaller figure squeaked even as he began treating Professor Clover where he had been shot.

"Save them? HA!"

All eyes turned back towards the leader of the agents on the island, who stared at the figures smugly.

"I don't know who you are, but if you really think that you can survive a Buster Call, you're just a bunch of fools! Ohara dies today, in the name of Justice!"

"Really? I heard the cannonfire, but where are the explosions? They're not on the island, and the remaining possibilities all boil down to the same explanation," the woman stated, a cool smugness in her voice that rivaled Spandine's. Said agent's smile dropped as he realized the implication.

"You bastards have _seriously_ bit off more than you can chew."

All eyes turned towards the source of the new voice from the direction of the forest. Another black figure stood there…and was ignored in favor of the giant with a cowboy hat, orange beard, a tattered black shirt, and tattered khaki shorts, who looked more confused than anything.

"Five Vice Admirals and ten battleships? You'd need a hell of a lot more than that to take out the Pirate King's crew."

All eyes turned towards another new voice from the direction of the Tree of Knowledge. Two more people stood there: another black figure, and a man with black hair, sunglasses, an outfit similar to the giants minus the hat, and a Marine trench coat. His face was set in a scowl, and unlike everyone else, he didn't seem shocked at the last words the figure said.

"We will not allow you to harm Ohara," stated the woman beside Robin, crossing her arms over her chest in an X.

Spandine and the two agents beside him turned to her with identical scowls, despite the cold sweat on their faces, but before they could do any more than that…

" _Sesenta Fleur!"_

Robin's eyes widened and her jaw dropped in shock as she saw arms sprout all over their bodies, holding them in place. To say she was dumbstruck would be appropriate; that was _her_ Devil Fruit power, and she wasn't doing that!

"Cover your eyes, Robin. I don't want you to have to see this," said the woman.

Robin hesitated, but complied, scrunching her eyes shut.

" _CLUTCH."_

The next moment, she heard the unmistakable sound of bones cracking, and she winced as she realized for the first time exactly how dangerous her powers could be. And if the fact that she heard some of the scholars behind her throwing up was any indication, she was sure that she never wanted to be that brutal.

"Saul, get them out of sight," Robin heard the woman yell. Then she spoke in a more normal tone. "Chopper, how is Professor Clover?"

"The bullet didn't hit any vital organs; he'll make a full recovery, but he'll need to take it easy for a few days," the doctor replied back.

"Good. Robin, you can open your eyes now."

The girl slowly opened one eye, and was greeted with the smiling, tearful face of her mother, kneeling directly in front of her. Both her eyes snapped open, and she smiled as she took her mother's hand into hers.

"I've been waiting a long time to do this," she said. Then, all at once, her emotions got the better of her, and more tears, this time of joy, streamed down her face. "I'm glad," she managed.

"Robin!" the woman said joyfully, pulling the girl into a hug.

"MOMMY!" she cried, embracing her mother tightly. They held their embrace for almost a minute before…

"SANJI, GET OVER HERE AND HELP ME! ROBIN, YOU OWE ME FOR THIS, _BIG TIME!_ "

The girl promptly snapped her head up, staring in the direction of the Tree of Knowledge. A woman with long orange hair stood there, the source of the scream, and she seemed to be staring at the woman in black. Robin's eyes widened as her mind connected the dots.

"E-excuse me?" she said, looking up at the woman beside her.

"I…you sound a lot like my mother…and those were my Devil Fruit powers, and...your name is Robin, too?…"

The figure slowly nodded. Robin's hand never left her mother's, but she was at her full height as she spoke again.

"…I don't mean to sound crazy, but…are you…me?" Robin asked hesitantly. The figure slowly raised her hands, and removed her hood. The head revealed underneath was the spitting image of her mother, save for the injuries and the fact that her hair was black rather than white.

"Yes, I am," she replied, giving her younger self a small smile. "Nico Robin, age 31, sent back in time to save Ohara from the destruction and genocide it suffered."

The scholars, Saul, and even Kuzan gaped at the older Robin, but Olvia slowly let her daughter go as she straightened, looking the black-haired woman in the eye. They stared at each other for several seconds without speaking. Then they moved in unison, embracing each other tightly and tearfully. Nobody, not even the younger Robin, moved to break them apart, and for the next few minutes, they merely held each other, no words spoken aloud. At last, Olvia broke the silence.

"Robin…what in the world happened?" she asked softly. The black-haired woman slowly pulled away, her head bowed as she replied.

"Saul washed up on this island four days before you arrived. I was the one who found him, and we became friends. He came here in the midst of the attack, and you forced him to take me away, so that I would survive, while you did what you could to protect the books in the Tree of Knowledge."

There was no accusation in her voice; she was merely stating facts.

"When we reached the coast, the battleships fired on Saul. He began attacking them, and urged me to run to the evacuation ship. I did so…and was denied entry even before they learned that I was a scholar due to my powers and being the daughter of a supposed criminal. It was at that time that Vice Admiral Kuzan," she gestured at the Marine in the trench coat, "came to attack Saul and myself…up until Vice Admiral Sakazuki fired on the evacuation ship, destroying it and killing everyone onboard due to the remote risk of a single scholar having snuck on. Saul attempted to run, but Kuzan caught up with him, and killed him. I ran away, and reached the edge of the island, where Kuzan was waiting for me. Disturbed by Sakazuki's actions and as a last act of loyalty to Saul, he spared my life and gave me a rowboat with which to leave. Despite this, however, my picture wound up in the hands of the Marines, who put a bounty on my head of 79 million berries, ostensibly for destroying six of their battleships.

"I was alone for the next twenty years, during which I did whatever I had to in order to survive, carrying on the name of Ohara as the sole survivor of the Buster Call. I could never rely on anyone for protection, anyone I turned to always wanting to make easy money or believing the World Government's lies about me being the child of a demon, and I eventually turned to pirates and organized crime. From there, whenever I could no longer rely on them, I betrayed them and used them as shields for the next group. All the while, I sought the Poneglyphs, finding one or two here and there, but never finding the Rio Poneglyph. At the end of those twenty years, I wound up in an ancient tomb that was falling apart, having found a Poneglyph there that told of nothing but the Ancient Weapon Pluton. I gave up, unwilling to go on anymore, and I would have been buried alive that day…but someone saved my life against my will, a young, kindhearted pirate captain who in this time has not yet been born. With nowhere else to go, he allowed me a place on his crew.

"It was only then that I found a place where I belonged. Twenty years of betrayals, and I finally found a group that welcomed me like family. They gave me back my life, my happiness, and my dreams. I finally found friends who would believe in me…to the point where when I crossed paths with Admiral Kuzan and CP9 once again, I surrendered myself to them in hopes of allowing my crew to go free. CP9 agreed, and they kept their word…up until my friends stormed Enies Lobby to save me. CP9 tried to kill them, but their best efforts failed. Enies Lobby was destroyed by a Buster Call invoked to kill my crew, and it was all in vain; they saved me, and I never doubted them again. Kuzan confronted me afterwards, and told me his reasons for leaving me alive. He spared me again because I had found my place, and encouraged me to show him the truth that Ohara fought for. I never met the Admiral again.

"After years more of training and uncovering ancient mysteries, my captain became Gol D. Roger's successor as Pirate King. We learned the True History, and spread it everywhere in the world. Earlier today, my crew crossed paths with an old man who offered each of us a chance to save something we lost in our pasts. And the result…is this."

She finished with a sweeping gesture, incorporating the area around her and indicating a distance away from them. All other eyes turned in the direction she pointed, and then widened as they saw nine of the ten battleships apparently caught in spontaneous whirlpools, and smoke coming from where the cannons were supposed to be; only the last of the battleships could keep firing, and none of the cannonballs were impacting the island.

Then, one shot fired towards the other ship off the coast of the island, sailing away from Ohara. The projectile exploded before it made impact, but to all of the watchers, the intention was clear.

"That idiot!" Kuzan spat before shaking his head. "Well, it looks like you were telling the truth about that. Assuming I believe everything else...what happens now?"

"Now we're going to ensure that the World Government never finds Ohara again to keep both the scholars and the Tree of Knowledge safe. You have a choice to make, Kuzan: will you leave the island and continue serving in the Marine Corps...or will you follow Saul's example?"

The Vice Admiral and the former Vice Admiral looked at each other.

"...So, you're staying with these scholars?" Kuzan asked.

"I wasn't planning on it, but if they're planning on making it so the World Government never finds this island, then it's as good a place as any for me to stay."

Saul turned to the adult Robin. "I'm guessing that all that digging your friends are doing is in aid of that?" he asked, gesturing to the many piles of earth that were starting to pile up, while holes dotted the island.

"Yes, but the exact process that we're going to use isn't something we can afford to allow anyone find out; if they learn how we hid the island, they may be able to find it."

"Justice changes depending on where you're standing...but if the fact that these people, who claim to be Gold Roger's successors, have come back here to change the past are any indication, it looks like you're choosing the better path, Saul."

All eyes turned back to Kuzan, who had removed his sunglasses and was looking the giant in the eye.

"But I still have my Justice to follow, so I'm sorry, but I can't abide by this."

"I assumed that you would say that. That being the case, you will need to leave at once on the evacuation ship, to ensure that they're protected on their way to wherever they're going."

Kuzan sighed, replacing his sunglasses.

"Fine, but I still have questions."

"I'll answer them for you once I've finished my business with the evacuees." She turned her eyes to the figure beside Kuzan. "Zoro, tell Sanji to extract as much food as he can from those battleships, especially plant products, then tell Nami, Franky, and Jinbe to meet me at the coast nearest the evacuation ship with those three agents that I incapacitated, exactly six minutes from now. Chopper, ensure that they're stable, then give Nami whatever help she needs."

With that, she vanished, as did the figure that had accompanied Kuzan. The vice admiral sighed again before he vanished as well.

"Bunch of showoffs," Saul grumbled, sinking into a sitting position.

"...What just happened?" young Robin asked.

"The Shave technique lets you move fast enough that you seem to have disappeared by kicking the ground ten times in a second. It's kind of common in the Grand Line, and very common in the upper echelons of the Marines and World Government," the doctor explained as he finished bandaging up Olvia. Stepping back, he removed his hood, showing beneath it a furry head that was more animal than human, resembling a raccoon dog with antlers and a pink and blue hat.

"Before you ask, I'm a reindeer who ate the Human-Human Fruit," he said, with a long-suffering tone that made it clear he had had to clarify that too often. "Olvia, make sure you take it easy...and take it from someone who knows firsthand: after getting a parent back when you thought you lost them, the pain of losing them again is unbearable. I'll be back."

And with that, he too Shaved away. Young Robin looked up at her mother.

"...All of this time, I was studying so that I could join you when you left again. Mom...whatever happens from now on, please let me stay with you," she said, tears coming to her eyes again. Olvia slowly brought her into an embrace again.

"I promise, Robin. From now on, if we can stay together, we will."

* * *

Aboard the evacuation ship, the evacuees were waiting nervously; from the moment that that strange black figure had intercepted the cannonball aimed to kill them, and then flown over to the other ship, nobody had said anything or moved a muscle. Then the figure had come back, landed on the deck of the ship, and commanded them to drop the anchor. The authority in his voice outweighed the youthfulness thereof, and as soon as they obeyed, he had sat down on the deck, unmoving.

"...Um—?" one of the people onboard had began.

"My crewmate will give you all the answers you need whenever she gets here," he had replied with a tone of finality.

And that was the last that anyone spoke. It took a couple more minutes before, out of nowhere, another figure materialized on the ship's deck, causing almost everyone to jump. The figure looked around before speaking in a cool feminine voice.

"Let me make myself clear to you. Ohara's scholars have discovered enough of the World Government's dark secrets that it is determined to annihilate the entire island to make an example. As you saw, certain affiliates are unwilling to take so much as the slightest risk that any scholars will survive. Ohara is now a criminal nation, and were it not for the intervention of my crew, it would be completely destroyed, and all of you would be dead. As it is, we intend to ensure Ohara's survival, so we are going to hide the island to ensure that the World Government will never find it, and it will be many years before anyone is able to leave the island again. Anyone who remains on Ohara now will be seen as an associate to the scholars, who the World Government will stop at nothing to kill.

"With all of that said, you have a decision to make. If you stay aboard this evacuation ship, you will be escorted to wherever the Marines have prepared for you. You may begin your lives anew, and forget about Ohara. Or...you may choose to stay on the island, and live your lives there. We can offer you no more than five minutes to make up your minds."

One person aboard hesitantly spoke.

"I heard that the scholars were plotting to destroy the world."

"Their only intention was to learn history. Some of the Poneglyphs do indeed contain the knowledge of the Ancient Weapons, which are capable of destroying the world. But the scholars' intention was never to revive them. Even so, the risk alone that they could learn what's written on those stones is dangerous enough for the World Government to kill anyone who researches them. That's all I can say; any more details would endanger your lives as well."

A certain red-haired woman spoke up next.

"How can you be sure that we'll be safe after that Marine tried to kill us?" she said, glowering.

"You will be traveling with Vice Admiral Kuzan, who _can_ be trusted to keep you safe. Nobody you encounter will have the power to stand up to a Devil Fruit user of his caliber."

"Devil Fruit? So he's a monster just like that Robin girl?" asked one of the kids.

A strange, unearthly chill spread over the deck for a few seconds, but faded when the female figure shook her head at the other figure. Then she spoke again.

"I truly cannot fathom how you ever saw it as a good idea to provoke someone who had power beyond anything you could match. You're only fortunate that she only wanted to be left alone; if she had been less tolerant of your abuse—"

"What the hell are you talking about? You honestly expect me to believe that that good-for-nothing Robin was—MMPH!"

The red-haired woman's speech abruptly cut off when hands sprouted from her shoulder and covered her mouth. Then the figure removed her hood, revealing a black-haired woman identical to Olvia, staring at Roji with an unreadable expression.

"…I still don't fully understand why I bothered to save your life when you treated me as nothing more than a slave. The island is my home. The scholars are my friends. But you...all of you showed me nothing but cruelty for my entire life, and you would leave me to die without a second thought. I know, because I saw it happen. I saw you refuse me entry onto the evacuation ship, leaving me to face the Buster Call. I survived, but was left with nothing but the clothes on my back. Now, after decades of more pain and sacrifice than any of you can begin to imagine, I found a way to return to the past long enough to save Ohara. And when I learned that, I thought that despite your feelings and actions towards me, it wasn't worth it to allow Sakazuki to end all of your lives. Yes...that's what I thought when I came here."

She let the sentence hang there for several seconds, during which many of those onboard began to sweat. Then the arms vanished from Roji's body.

"But it's too late for me to change my mind now. Regardless of what I may think you deserve, my offer still stands. You have three minutes left."

That was all she said that was audible; she whispered a few words to the other figure before her form vanished in a flurry of petals, and the other figure spoke again.

"Anyone who isn't leaving the ship, go below deck, and brace yourselves; you're going to be getting out of here in a hurry."

Slowly, with shame on the vast majority of their faces, the civilians began silently filing into the ship.

* * *

"If you have questions, Kuzan, I suggest that you ask them now. When my captain brings back any who choose to stay on the island, if there are any such civilians, you will be leaving."

Kuzan frowned heavily, but sighed as he got his thoughts together.

"What did you do to the battleships?" Kuzan asked at last, seeing the ten ships stagnant in the ocean, with no serious damage on any aside from Sakazuki's.

"My crewmates destroyed the cannons; apart from that, the ships should be relatively undamaged. All of the Marines and agents are unconscious. Most of them are uninjured. Spandine and his two agents will likely need severe treatment, but they will survive. The only one who we killed is Sakazuki; he was too dangerous to be left alive."

Kuzan sighed, shaking his head. "I suppose I should be thanking you for holding back as much as you did, Nico Robin; I would have expected you to leave no survivors after what you went through."

"Let it never be said that Ohara will kill to protect its research. Its civilians, on the other hand..." Robin trailed off.

Kuzan was silent for several seconds more.

"You expected that I wouldn't agree to abandoning the Marines and staying on Ohara. Why did you still tell me everything?"

"To give you all the information you need to decide what you plan to do about all of this. Even if things don't go the way they did in my time, the Will of D. still survives. It's only grown stronger since the Blank Century, and before another century ends, it _will_ succeed in destroying the World Government. You're not blind, Kuzan; the Five Elder Stars would have gladly chosen Sakazuki as their next Fleet Admiral, because they approve of his style. I know very well that you do not, but the system is corrupted; they care more about their agenda than they do Justice. I have no doubts that you know that."

Kuzan's face remained unreadable.

"The choice is ultimately in your hands. But if I may offer a suggestion for your report, tell your superiors that the scholars put up a significant fight, but the Buster Call ultimately succeeded."

"And how's that going to work once they find out that Ohara is still here?" Kuzan asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I told you, we're going to hide the island. If you tell them the truth, you'll be left looking as foolish as Montblanc Noland," she replied simply. "Whatever you decide, I assure you that despite the truth of Ohara fading into darkness, its will shall remain shining brightly."

"...You're planning on making another Fishman Island?" Kuzan asked quietly.

Robin remained silent for several seconds.

"Before I forget," she said at last, reaching into her robe, "I've had quite a bit of free time the last few places that we've visited."

She withdrew a small book from her robe, and held it out to Kuzan.

"A few details of things yet to come that I believe would be in everyone's best interest to prevent. It's your choice what you do with it...but my recommendation is to give it to Kong's successor as Fleet Admiral, Sengoku."

Kuzan eyed the book before taking it. "I suppose that what's written in here is going to help your crew out as well?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. I have other things planned that the scholars and my self of this time will accomplish when the time is right. But let me make one thing clear to you, Kuzan: from the day my captain started his journey until the day he ended it, he was never involved in a single fight where he was the first offender. Ohara will abide by the same standards."

"And the fact that we just tried to destroy the island?"

"My crew has absolved that."

"And you? You're not looking for revenge?"

"Spandine is broken. Sakazuki is dead. You're cooperating. Everyone else will never know the truth of what happened today. And Ohara and all of its knowledge will survive; that alone is enough to spite the Government. I won't deny that I strongly considered doing what ostensibly earned me my bounty in my time...but I'm not going to set a bad example for the scholars, least of all my younger self."

Kuzan's face was perfectly blank. After a few more seconds of silence, Luffy returned from the ship alone.

"No one came. I'm not surprised. I suggest that you brace yourself once you're aboard, Kuzan."

Kuzan stared at her, then glanced down at the book before pocketing it. "Sengoku will know everything that happened today...except for your names. It'll be his choice what story he tells everyone else."

Robin nodded, after which Luffy picked up the somewhat indignant vice admiral and set him on his shoulders, along with the three nearby unconscious agents (in full-body casts, she noted) before taking off towards the ship.

"Nami, is the island ready?" Robin asked.

"Everyone else should have the tunnel network finished by the time we get back. What do you have planned now?" came the voice from beside her. Robin turned to address her three crewmates directly, a small smile on her face.

"We need the evacuation ship to be as far away as possible as fast as possible, so I'd like you three to combine your strength."

"Oh, THAT technique. This should be fun," Franky said with a grin, cracking his metallic knuckles before stepping to the shoreline. Jinbe and Nami wordlessly took their own positions, Nami Shaving to higher ground and Jinbe moving into the water. As soon as Luffy returned again, the three took their stances.

"Ready..." Nami said, beginning to spin her Clima-Tact.

"Set…" Franky continued, his arms beginning to inflate.

"Go," Jinbe finished, taking his position in the water and gathering as much force as he could form in his hands. "Fishman Karate..."

"Max Cola Power..."

"Tornado Tempo..."

Then, all at once, they fired.

"COUP DE BLAST!"

The force from Nami's Clima-Tact melded with Franky's wind cannon, creating a jet of wind heading straight for the sails of the evacuation ship. At the same time, the currents Jinbe flung towards the keel and underside carried almost enough force to lift the ship off of the water's surface. They impacted the ship mere seconds after they were launched, and not thirty seconds later, the ship was gone over the horizon.

"Luffy, do one more quick search of the battleships, and ensure that nobody is awake," Robin said.

Luffy nodded, and a moment later, the beach was empty.

* * *

Back at the Tree of Knowledge, the scholars had used all of the resources they had to attempt to secure the books within. The situation had been explained away courtesy of Olvia, Clover, and the other five figures, who were suffering varying degrees of fatigue. They had removed their hoods, and given their names: the young green-haired man with one eye, Roronoa Zoro; the young man with curly black hair and a long nose, Usopp; the young blonde-haired man with one eye covered by hair and a very curly eyebrow, Sanji; the young blue-nosed hat-wearing reindeer that ate the Human-Human Fruit, Tony Tony Chopper; and the skeleton with the black afro, animated by the Revive-Revive Fruit, Brook.

The time-travelers had only finished their laborious task of digging a few minutes after Robin's future self had left, and the fact that there was now a gaping hole near the entrance of the Tree of Knowledge leading to a series of complex tunnels that apparently ran through the entire island, and the fact that a great deal of soil had been removed from the island and thrown out to the sea, were the source of most of the questions the scholars posed to them, but the pirates refused to reveal what their plan was.

"Trust me, you don't want to ruin the surprise," Usopp had said.

They had learned only the basics of the rest of the crew—the whale shark fishman Jinbe, the rubber captain Luffy, the weather-manipulating navigator Nami, the cyborg Franky, and the future version of their own child genius, Nico Robin—before four of said pirates reappeared in front of the hole.

"All right, we've got no time to waste. MILKY SEA!" she declared, shooting a continuous stream of something that looked like clouds into the pit, flowing as a torrent from the staff in her hands. After several minutes, when the clouds seemed to have filled the pit, the final figure appeared.

"They're all unconscious, Robin," he said.

Robin nodded, and glanced at Nami, who nodded in turn before Shaving away. With that, Robin closed her eyes and knelt on the ground.

"All of you, please keep as quiet as possible; I need perfect concentration in order to use the full extent of my powers," she said. Then she placed her left hand over her heart, and her right hand on the grass.

Awakening the Flower-Flower Fruit's true powers had put her easily in the same league as the Monster Trio. The base of the Flower-Flower Fruit's abilities enabled her to grow her body parts on any surface. The more she pushed her abilities, the more limbs she could grow. Training with the Revolutionaries had enabled her to duplicate her entire body. But none of that touched on the fruit's true potency. Much in the way that flowers drew energy from the soil, air, and light where they were planted, tapping into the full power enabled her to draw energy from the same sources, giving her the ability to not only control a great number more of limbs...but also to make them grow.

"MILLÓN FLEUR," she breathed.

A breeze spread out from her, petals flying through the air to every end of the island. Then, at the very edges on two sides, arms began to grow. One, ten, twenty, fifty, one hundred, five hundred, one thousand…all building up and up and up, until five hundred thousand arms had grown on each end, formed into two massive angelic wings. And even then, they grew larger, until each wing was the size of the Tree of Knowledge itself.

"ALAS DE DIOS," Robin finished.

The massive wings began to move, slowly at first, then faster and faster, shaking the whole island with each wingbeat. Then, slowly, as the wingbeats accelerated to two every second, the island began to rise. Beads of sweat already formed on Robin's forehead, but with every inch of Ohara linked to her energy, both refreshing her and reminding her why she was doing this, she continued to put in the force she needed. In merely a minute, the island of Ohara had fully risen above the sea.

And all the while, Nami ran along the edge of the island, casting more clouds beneath her and sending more and more support and buoyancy beneath the island, giving it the cushion it needed to defy gravity and rise. And with each bit of cloud that replaced the earth, the island became lighter, giving Robin more energy to raise it above the sea, and gravity less hold to prevent its ascension. The island rose higher and higher, faster and faster.

The Oharan scholars and Saul collectively failed to pick up their jaws for the next ten minutes as their entire island rose into the sky, clouds continuing to spread out and form beneath it until it began to form a beach around the edges of the island. Their jaws sagged even further when they saw a large barrier of clouds above them, and even more so when some of the figures raised fists and swords, and with an impossible burst of energy, created a gap in the barrier large enough for Ohara to pass through.

The next three minutes were spent within a tunnel with clouds pressing in on every side…and then, at last, they broke into a sight comparable to a dream, with a sea of clouds around them. Yet the island did not even slow in its ascension, rising even higher. A few more minutes, in which Robin's panting became audible, and they passed through another barrier in the same way. At long last, the wings began to slow, and as the edges of Ohara reached the borders of the higher cloud sea, Nami finished her final lap around the island. The clouds around the island connected with the sea, and the wings slowed to a stop before vanishing in a storm of flower petals.

Robin collapsed, exhausted from the effort, but smiling as she stared at the area around her. "Thank...good...ness..."

"…What…the…" Saul managed.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Usopp began theatrically, "let me be the first to welcome you to the White-White Sea, located 10,000 meters above sea level, where neither Marines nor pirates nor the Government will be able to find you."

"It…it was…the only…option…I could…think of," Robin panted.

"The only…don't you think that this was a little extreme?" one of the scholars asked incredulously.

"No way," huffed Nami, collapsing on the ground near Robin, nearly as winded as the archaeologist from her running. "If they found out Ohara survived...they'd pull out all the stops trying to kill you."

"She's right. The only places on sea level where you'd have any chance of being safe would be the islands that old man Whitebeard protects, and we've only got an hour in this time, nowhere near long enough to get you to one of those. And the only group of people who you'd be safe with won't be anything substantial for another 10 years," Franky said grimly.

"And even if we could choose one of those options, that still wouldn't save the Tree of Knowledge," Robin said, her breathing almost under control.

"So...we're living in the sky now? But...how are we supposed to travel? What about food and water and—" young Robin asked.

"Traveling will have to wait a few more years," Zoro said. "Like Franky said, the group of people you'll be safe with won't be powerful enough to keep you safe until ten years from now. Besides, Ohara needs to lie low for the next few years to be sure the World Government can't finish the job they started."

"As for the rest," Sanji continued. "A lot of houses on the island are bound to have food and water, and I stole a fair amount of food from those battleships; you have more than enough to start producing your own crops."

"And I can give you any instruction you need about sky islands in general," Nami said.

"Yes," Robin said, slowly pushing herself into a sitting position. "We have...approximately thirty minutes remaining before the power that sent us here expires. We intend to utilize that time to pass on all the knowledge we have to give. After all, there's no greater treasure."

The next moment found Luffy appearing before the scholars, mounds of paper and several pens in his hands.

"So, split up and take notes, everyone."

* * *

The knowledge that the Straw Hat Pirates imparted to the scholars served to destroy any nonexistent resentment that they had for their forced relocation; knowledge of the future was a treasure as priceless as the oldest books in the Tree of Knowledge, and they took as much care as they could to learn all that the crew had to tell them.

The Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy steadfastly refused to tell them about One Piece, the Void Century, or anything about Raftel beyond how to get there. Learning about the Road Poneglyphs and exactly how hard it would be to acquire the knowledge thereof served to help with dissuading them from asking. Ultimately, they had satisfied themselves by learning of Luffy's adventures, his childhood, and particularly his parentage; learning that he was the son of the one who would ultimately be able to keep them safe down on the surface again was the source of no small amount of interest. He even confided in them about his brothers, and though they were taken aback, not one of them believed in the sins of the father.

Roronoa Zoro, the World's Greatest Swordsman, spoke only of the knowledge of battle. He told of the swordsmanship that he learned both growing up and from Dracule Mihawk himself. It did little to help the scholars, none of whom were swordsmen, but they could appreciate the secrets of swordplay that made the difference between masterful and world-class as much as any swordsman worth their steel. He told them of what he knew of the Six Powers, demonstrating the Shave technique, giving a rough semblance of Tempest Kick with his sword, asking Sanji to demonstrate the Moonwalk technique (which he had done with no small amount of snark towards Zoro), and describing the Iron Body, Finger Pistol, and Paper Art techniques. This they took in diligently, knowing it was a Government secret. And he told them of the three forms of Haki, demonstrating each one in turn, his captain giving only the barest taste of the third and rarest form for them to note upon. This last gift, all of them elected to study intensely.

Nami the navigator informed them of everything she could tell them about Sky Islands, having spent two years on one studying the weather. Her instructions consisted as much about getting used to the thinner air, denser sea, and expected weather patterns as they did producing the tools needed to change the weather the way that they desired to. The concept of Weather Balls was incredible, and considering their current house arrest of sorts, many of the scholars were quite keen on looking into the designs. And the knowledge of Dials and their various abilities and usages attracted just as much interest.

Usopp the sniper was a little of everywhere in his teaching; between his gadgets, his Pop Greens, his tales of great adventures that they had had, the scholars were just as much everywhere in trying to keep up with what he said.

Sanji the chef's group took note only on recipes and food preparation, most notably of which were the 99 Attack Cuisine recipes that were indigenous to the Momoiro Kingdom. It was a testament to how far he was willing to go for the sake of the ladies on the crew that he informed them of the island's nature and why he had gone there. The scholars then made certain that they had duplicates of every recipe to ensure that they would never have to go there...and then began hoping beyond all hope that they wouldn't have to go there anyway once they joined the Revolutionaries, with whom was the kingdom's queen.

Tony Tony Chopper the doctor spent half of his time lecturing on medical skills that nobody else in the world could match and the other half lecturing on methods of altering the powers of Zoan Devil Fruits. With the knowledge in mind that they would likely need to take care of themselves for the next few years in mind, they ensured that they noted everything on both subjects, though they seemed to be more interested in the latter of them. Chopper ultimately left them a few samples of his Rumble Balls along with the knowledge.

Franky the shipwright told them the basics of shipbuilding, ship maintenance, and ship dismantling, and the fact that he was the apprentice of the man who built the Oro Jackson was more than enough for them to be thoroughly interested in his words. He also told them all he could of the way he modified himself, the secrets he learned from Vegapunk, and the potency of cola as a power source. It was a testament to the sheer strangeness of how the day had already gone that they took that in stride.

Brook the musician told of all that he had experienced in his life before he died the first time, though the fact that his home was also in the West Blue removed much of his story. They did, however, take particular note of what they heard of Laboon, silently vowing to do what they could to tell him the truth. Brook then refocused by writing out some of his greater hits while lecturing on the potency of Devil Fruit abilities, which, especially for Robin's sake, they took particular interest in.

Jinbe spoke of Fishman Island and its past, the dark history that the World Government had with them, the bright future that they fought for, the ones who strove to destroy it, and the events leading up to that. He spoke of fishman anatomy and biology, of Fishman and Merman Karate, and of their dreams of living alongside humans in peace. The scholars one and all pledged to do whatever they could to fend off the prejudice in the world when they returned to it.

And Nico Robin? She told her mother and her younger self of all of the fond memories that she had with the crew. How they had rescued her from the depths of despair. How they had laughed and cried together, suffered and healed together, fought and won together, and maintained their unity even when apart. Not once did she speak of the horrors she endured during her twenty years of wandering, she spoke only of her friends...her family...and of the Revolutionaries, the leader of whom would become her captain's father three years from then. What she impressed more than anything else was that when eight years had passed away, they would need to be on Dawn Island in the East Blue to meet up with Monkey D. Dragon and join his cause.

Through it all, young Robin took in as much of the knowledge as she could, though her hand never left that of her mother. At last, however, she spoke to her older self.

"What's going to happen to you when you leave?" young Robin asked.

The older Robin smiled sadly. "What I've done today won't change Ohara in my time. But I've already earned my happy ending with my crew; I'm just glad to fix what happened today, and a great deal more problems that are yet to come."

"Yes," Olvia couldn't help but chuckle. "I believe it's a safe assumption that the World Government won't expect that Ohara literally flew away."

"Especially since I misled Kuzan into thinking that we were going to sink it into the ocean instead," older Robin agreed with a smile.

"Uh, can I ask something else? That wing thing...?" young Robin asked.

Robin smiled, and by way of a reply, crossed her arms, upon which one hundred arms sprouted from her back. "I developed the technique many years ago. Back then, my strength was only enough to fly for five seconds. But as it is now, my power's limit is...significantly more."

"So...I'll be able to fly?" young Robin asked eagerly. Her older self gave her a wide smile.

"Yes, you will. In fact, if you start practicing with your powers now with the advice we've given, you should be able to fly freely by the time the Revolutionary Army is ready."

The girl beamed, and then hesitated briefly before looking hopeful. "Can...can you take me flying?"

Robin returned the girl's smile before gently picking her up and glancing at their mother.

"Go on," she said, tears of joy in her eyes.

Young Robin smiled at Olvia, then she felt her older self begin to move. She looked at her, then back at her mother...who was now several feet below. She clung to the dark fabric, noting that it felt oddly...insubstantial, but the arms which clutched her to the body underneath were notably not so.

"I've got you, Robin, don't worry." And though she knew it was herself speaking, Robin couldn't help but picture her mother, and smiled. Then she took another look as the wings beat more and more, soon bringing her on level with the canopy of the Tree of Knowledge. And when they reached that height, her older self began to glide. Young Robin felt the air currents around her that her older self glided upon, and watched as they circled around the Tree of Knowledge. She saw the library from angles she never would have otherwise. She laughed joyfully.

"This is amazing!"

"Oh, it's only just begun," her older self purred.

Young Robin clung as tightly as she could older Robin went into a dive, heading straight for the lake. Robin froze up with terror, remembering her experience the last time she tried to swim, but just before they reached the water, the dive evened out, and they began skimming along the surface. Hesitantly, Robin dipped her hand in the water, and let out another giggle as she felt the rush of the waves on her hand. Then her older self flapped her wings again and pulled back up, beginning to soar up higher and higher, easily high above the Tree of Knowledge itself and giving Robin a literal bird's eye view of the dreamlike surrounding sea before folding her wings in. Robin felt her heart jump into her throat as they began to pick up speed, growing faster and faster and heading straight towards the ground.

"Don't you dare close your eyes," older Robin whispered.

Hesitantly, young Robin obeyed, watching as the ground got closer...100 feet, 50, 30, 20—

And then the wings unfurled, gliding across the surface of the grass once more. And as the speed wore off, Robin beat her wings once more to get upright, and landed gracefully on her feet, right in front of her mother, who promptly began to clap along with everyone else.

"That...that was scary, but...wow...!" younger Robin said, smiling breathlessly.

"WOOHOO! GO, ROBIN!" Luffy cheered.

"ENCORE, ENCORE!" Professor Clover concurred exuberantly, drawing many quizzical looks as they applause slowly died down. The man stopped with equal sluggishness, blushing, but still looked hopefully at the chuckling grown Robin.

"My apologies, Professor Clover. I would love to demonstrate more..."

Then, all at once the ten figures began to shine brightly.

"But, I'm afraid that that's the signal that our time here is up, so I'm afraid it will have to wait until my younger self can do it. I wish you all the best of luck with your future," Robin said, a hint of sadness in her tone.

Olvia embraced her daughter one final time. "I'm prouder of you than words can express, Robin. And I promise, if I ever find the fruit that brought you here, I'll come to see you again."

The woman smiled, grudgingly breaking the embrace with her mother to move to stand beside her crew again. As she did, she took a last look at the island: the Tree of Knowledge intact, the buildings undamaged, the vegetation unharmed, and the resources that they needed to make a new life. All was set; she had secured Ohara's future.

And as she considered this, in the last few seconds before they vanished, she grinned and let out a strange laugh of pure joy.

" _Dereshishishishishishishi! Dereshishishishishishishi!"_

Then the light was gone, and Ohara's saviors the Straw Hat Pirates with it.

* * *

 **And there we have it. For those of you who didn't get it, the hint I mentioned in the April Fool's gag was the anagram "A HOLIDAY'S RANKS"; rearrange the letters, and you get SKY ISLAND OHARA.**

 **So, that leaves only Brook's intervention and the epilogue. Good news: I know what I'm going to do for Brook. Bad news: I don't know how I'm going to lay it all out yet. But, I will satisfy myself for now in that I've got a much better idea on what I'm going to do with it than I had planned when I started rewriting this fic. In any case, I will strive to have it out by the start of summer. And after that comes the epilogue. Any of you have ideas for what the old man has planned as a surprise? If so, I'm impressed...because I've only recently decided what it is. THAT is why I typically plan everything out before writing a story.**

 **...Then again, the fact that I did that enough that Blueh gave me this story implies...oh, forget it, I'm rambling now. Anyway, this chapter is finally done, and until the next one comes, I beseech you: if you have time, PLEASE leave a review; I thrive on constructive criticism, as it helps make me a better writer. And with that, I leave you as always with my motto: Patience is a virtue.**


	13. The Twin Capes Again

**I do apologize, loyal fans, for keeping you all waiting for the final chapter. But it took a long time for me to come up with an idea for Brook, and when I did, I couldn't find a way to make it work well...until I spoke to my fellow member of the Cross-Brain, CV12Hornet, who gave me an even better idea. Good thing, too, because otherwise I would have been sitting on this chapter for another few weeks so I could publish it around Christmas. But as it stands...here is the final intervention. Spoilers up the Zou arc.**

A familiar red, stony horizon and salty air greeted the Straw Hats' senses as the light faded.

"The Twin Capes again?" Chopper asked curiously. "But isn't this Brook's turn? He's the only one left."

"I thought you said we'd be saving them at either Little Garden or the Florian Triangle?" Zoro concurred, turning to his fellow swordsman.

The skeleton sighed. "I thought as much at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that saving them at either of those points wouldn't be enough. The only way that they have any chance of reaching Raftel is if they are armed with both the strength and the knowledge they need at the beginning."

"So, we've come to the outset of the Rumbar Pirates' journey through the Grand Line," Robin concluded, turning to peer over the cliff.

And as the crew followed her example, they saw the vaguely familiar form of the Rumbar Pirates' ship, not pristine but exceptionally better than what they found in the Florian Triangle. Sunrise had passed only a short time ago, and most of the crew was lazing and playing music or training. None were close enough to the time travelers to have seen them.

"All right, so is this just going to be walking up and explaining things to them, like we did to our past selves on the second jump?" Sanji asked.

"I don't think so," Brook replied grimly. "I remember the mindset that we had before setting out. We were completely confident in our abilities...we were naïve. We had enough skill to survive almost to the end of Paradise, but even without that ambush, we would not have lasted a day in the New World." He shook his head as he drew Soul Solid. "We will need to demonstrate our abilities, and show how thoroughly outclassed they are, before we tell them the truth. I suppose that I should handle that myself."

"Hold on a second, Brook, I have another idea."

All eyes turned to the Straw Hats' sniper, who had a mischievous grin. "What if I showed them just how big the difference between us is? I mean, do you think that they could have any chance of beating me?"

The message sunk in, and Brook slowly shook his head. "What do you have in mind, Usopp?"

"Weeell...have we ever told you the story of what happened to an East Blue Pirate named Don Krieg when he entered the Grand Line?"

* * *

It had been a month since the Rumbar Pirates had come over Reverse Mountain and docked at the Twin Capes to repair their ship. With nothing to do to bring their extended shore leave to an end any faster, the crew was enjoying the welcome break from not having to worry about sea creatures or other ships crossing their paths at all hours of the day, and not needing to awaken at the crack of dawn in the name of fending off said threats. Many were taking advantage of the break before their adventures began in earnest to get a few extra hours of sleep.

Of course, in the event that they slept too long, there was always a foolproof way to get them awake.

"It's a whiiiiite handkerchieeeeef~, Careful now, knees on the ground, run awaaa—"

 _THWACK! THUD!_

"That damned song got old the first time you sang it, Brook," Mawaritosuki growled.

"Yohohohoho! How harsh!" the violinist laughed as he got to his feet, discarding the pillow that had struck him. "But you did request a sparring session today, didn't you?"

"...five more minutes," the other swordsman grumbled.

"Oh, very well," the fencer chuckled as he turned and walked out of the makeshift lodgings by Crocus' house.

Naturally, the next place he went was the base of the cliffs of the capes. He descended carefully, despite knowing he had a rescuer waiting if he fell in...who he could see smiling and waiting for him already at the bottom of the cliff.

"Good morning, Laboon!" Brook greeted, perching himself on a rock nearby. The 'little' whale chirped happily in reply, and chirped more as Brook produced his violin and bow. "Shall we start the day with your favorite—?"

 _BOOM!_

Brook cut himself off as an explosion sounded from the cliff. Glancing up, he saw a plume of smoke rising, and grit his teeth. "Laboon, stay out of sight. We'll be all right."

The whale let out a worried chirp, but sunk into the waves. Brook cursed the fact that he had left his sword in the lodgings as he hastened to climb back up the cliff. In the distant future, he'd be able to move his legs fast enough to be able to run on the water. But for the speed that his technique required, he was no snail at the present time; he ascended the cliff within thirty seconds. And what he found there was nothing that he was expecting.

After all, what sane person would expect to see the barren ground suddenly blooming with a myriad of strange and hostile plants attacking his crew? None of the injuries were all that grievous, but there was no end to them; the plants were surrounding the pirates on all sides, and though the entire crew was present, they were making no progress.

"What in the world is going on here?" Brook demanded, dodging out of the way of an oversized Venus fly trap and ducking beneath a flight of green bananas that resembled shurikens.

"Ask later, fight now, Brook!" ordered a blonde-haired man with an F-shaped mark beneath his right eye and another on his chin, fending off a massive wolf-shaped structure of pure plant life, sparing a moment to toss Brook the purple cane he was holding.

The afro-clad musician grabbed the handle as it flew by, the lower section of purple sliding off from the momentum to reveal the sword beneath. The swordsman began dashing amidst the many plants, blade flashing through stem after giant stem, deflecting shurikens, and slicing through the oversized rafflesias that were disabling the men. With both Yorki and himself fighting, the number of plants steadily decreased, and the pirates began winning the fight.

Finally, with the entire crew beaten, bruised, bloody, and/or exhausted, all that remained were odd scraps of plant life that were withering as they watched. They were safe.

"Allow me...to reiterate: what...in the world...was that?" Brook huffed.

"Oh, just killing time," came another voice, prompting all present to look towards its source. Said source was standing at the edge of the cliff. He was a man of average height, but that was all they could tell, considering that the black outfit he wore covered his entire form, from head to toe. Even the slingshot he carried was black.

"Killing...time? You sicced an army of killer plants on us because you were _bored?_ " one of the Rumbar Pirates demanded indignantly.

The man shrugged nonchalantly, fully undisturbed. "You haven't been in the Grand Line for very long, have you?" he drawled.

"Damn you...DAMN YOU!" Yorki yelled, charging forward with rage that disguised his tired state. The man didn't move.

"Special Attack, Green Star: Humandrake!" he called out. The instant he finished his sentence, what looked like half a dozen miniature men with flowers for their heads leapt up from the ground directly beneath Yorki, clinging onto his body. The sudden weight was too much for the pirate captain, and he slid to a painful halt far away from the stranger. The stranger then raised his slingshot and pulled it back.

"Special Attack, Green Star: Bamboo Javelin!"

He released the band, and the projectiles flew towards Yorki. The moment after they struck, a small grove of bamboo stalks sprang from the ground, instantly growing half as tall as the lighthouse. Yorki was nowhere to be seen.

The remaining pirates charged forward at the sight of this, Brook ahead of them all. The stranger still didn't move, even as Brook sliced away the bamboo with a swipe of his blade, revealing their captain within... untouched; the stalks merely surrounded him, none piercing his body.

"You...You missed," Brook said in what was meant to be a gloating tone, but came out as a sigh of relief.

"I meant to," the man stated calmly. "I'm a sniper first and foremost; if I wanted you guys dead, you would never have seen me."

At that moment, the man vanished. Brook blinked.

"Expect the unexpected."

The stranger's voice came from behind him. Behind his crew. They had barely begun to turn when he vanished again.

"Never lose track of the opponent."

Brook saw him far off to the side, then he was gone again.

"One slip-up, and you're dead."

The swordsman felt the whisper an inch from his ear, and throwing caution to the wind, swung his blade around. He struck only air, and the man reappeared in his original position, slingshot raised and ready to fire.

"That's the way of the Grand Line. And this?"

The man tilted his slingshot back, firing the projectile straight up, and then fired another projectile at it a moment later. It exploded high above the ground, with enough force that Brook and the rest of the crew fell down. The resulting cloud turned into a bright red skull, leering down at them as if about to strike. Then it dissolved, and all eyes turned back towards the stranger, who stowed his slingshot in his robes.

"This is your wake-up call."

Those words stunned the crew more than anything else. Yorki slowly got to his feet, dodging around the bamboo, his sword still at the ready. "Who are you?" he asked coldly.

The man raised his hands and lowered his hood. The face was that of a young man with a comically long nose, black hair in an afro-like form, orange ear protectors and goggles, and a white hat. His expression was unreadable.

"My name is Usopp. I'm part of a crew known as the Straw Hat Pirates, and I'm here to demonstrate for you exactly how little chance you have of surviving the Grand Line as you are now."

"We...We won't be discouraged. We knew that there would be challenges here. But we'll be ready when we meet someone else like you," Yorki vowed.

Usopp chuckled sardonically. "Someone else like me, you say? Please. I beat your entire crew without even trying, with a slingshot. You saw that I could have killed you right away, and I didn't. And like I said, I'm only part of the Straw Hat Pirates. I'm not the captain. In fact, I'm the weakest out of all of us."

The Rumbar Pirates paled in unison as he said that, and the pallor only intensified as nine more figures clad in black suddenly appeared beside him, one by one. They varied in shape and size, but none of their faces were visible. Brook swallowed, and spoke again. "And you're really here to show us all of this because of boredom?"

"No, but there are those who would."

Brook and all of the listeners froze as one of the figures stepped forward, and spoke with _his voice._

"This, my friends, is in aid of a hope that you will not perish in the Grand Line, and subsequently leave Laboon alone. You seek something that nobody has found for centuries, and ultimately, you don't have what it takes to grasp it."

"Who are you to say that?" Brook demanded, getting past the oddness of his voice. The man turned towards him, and he felt his anger falter at the stare that came through the hood.

"Former acting captain of the Rumbar Pirates and current musician of the Straw Hat Pirates, 'Soul King' Brook...age 91."

Brook's jaw fell open again, and Yorki looked at the speaking stranger in haunted awe. "Brook?" he whispered.

"Captain Yorki. It has been a very long time," the man nodded.

"...If you're really me, then show your face," Brook requested.

"Yohohohoho!" the so-called Brook laughed, just as Brook did. "The resemblance isn't much. As I said, we're here to prevent you from perishing in the Grand Line...as you did in my time. It's only thanks to a strange old man with a very powerful Devil Fruit that I can stand before you now, as a crewmate of the second Pirate King, and potentially save you from your demise."

"Second—what are you—how did—" Yorki stuttered. After a moment, he got ahold of himself, and sighed, looking at the future Brook grimly. "Tell me everything."

"Two months from now, we set sail into the Grand Line with our ship fully finished, vowing to Laboon that we would return one day. We made significant progress before disaster struck. You and many others on the crew caught an incurable disease, and we had no choice but to send you off from the rest of us before it spread any further, leaving me to be captain from then on. We nearly made it to the end of the first half of the Grand Line before we met an extremely powerful crew. Those of us who did not die in the fighting died from their poisoned weapons. I died as well, of course...but came back by use of the Revive-Revive Fruit. But as the area where we died was thick with fog, it took me a year's worth of searching to find my body, by which time I had decayed until only my skeleton remained. I would suggest you brace yourselves."

The future Brook raised his hands to his hood. He waited for a few seconds, giving the Rumbar Pirates time to follow his advice...and lowered his hood.

Nobody screamed, but several gasped and recoiled. Forewarned wasn't prepared, really, to actually see that beneath the hood was just a skull with a black afro. Said skull then began talking again, still in Brook's voice.

"The attacking pirates destroyed the rudder, leaving me stranded there alone for the next five decades; it was only our promise to Laboon that kept me sane and prevented me from killing myself. After fifty years, however, I came across this crew as they sailed through the Grand Line. The captain, Monkey D. Luffy, eagerly invited me to join his crew, finding my new appearance 'awesome' rather than repulsive, desiring my musical capabilities, and having met Laboon at the Twin Capes, where he was still waiting after all of those years, despite Crocus having confirmed our death."

The skeleton seemed to smile. "I accepted, and traveled with the crew that had given me new life until Luffy became the Pirate King. And a year later, we found a man who let each of us return to the past for a single hour to save something that we lost. I am here now, my friends, in hopes that I can prevent your demise in this ocean."

Silence fell among the Rumbar Pirates, stretching on for a full minute. Yorki finally broke it.

"That's not everything, Brook. You said that your captain was the second Pirate King. Who's the first?"

"A rookie in this time by the name of Gol D. Roger," interjected another of the cloaked figures. All eyes turned to her as she removed her hood, revealing long black hair and cool blue eyes.

"Nico Robin, archaeologist of the Straw Hat Pirates and last survivor of Ohara," she explained, and then continued. "The reason that nobody has been able to conquer the Grand Line to this date is that they have all lacked the proper knowledge. The only way to reach Raftel is with the map that leads to it, and that map is inscribed on four separate Poneglyphs. Without the ability to decipher those stones, it is utterly impossible to reach the end of the Grand Line. And there are only two ways to decipher the language. Either study the text so that you can read it, or interpret the meaning using a special power known as the Voice of All Things, a power that incredibly few people possess."

"Roger was one of them," the old Brook continued. "Twenty-seven years from now, he reached Raftel and became King of the Pirates. But he had been suffering a terminal illness for the duration of the journey; nobody could cure it, and the only doctor in the world capable of stabilizing it was Crocus, who traveled with him to learn what became of our crew. One year after obtaining his title, Roger turned himself in to the Marines and was publicly executed in Loguetown, the very place where he was born. But the last words he spoke in his life promised all of his treasure to whomever could find it. It was another twenty-two years before his successor, my captain, set sail, and another two after that before he succeeded him."

Amidst the awe of the tale was a decided air of dread among the Rumbar Pirates. "So, we're already doomed to failure?" one of them asked.

"Keep up, man, that's what Brook is here to change!" said another, looking hopefully at the skeleton. "You've got a way to help us, right?"

The skeleton's expression did not visibly change, but more and more of the crew began looking at him with hope.

"...If you do not want history to repeat itself, you have two choices," the old Brook said at last. "Either spend the next several _years_ training so that you can reach the end of the Grand Line, or spend the next several years training so that you can sail with the Roger Pirates when they arrive. If you seek the end of the Grand Line, those are your only options."

Some of the crew wilted. Others, including Brook and Yorki, straightened more, their faces set in determined lines.

"If we must set aside another decade of training so that we can make this journey, then so be it," Yorki nodded firmly.

"And if it comes to the point where we must reform ourselves beneath a greater captain...then for Laboon's sake, so be it," Brook agreed with frigid determination.

All of those who had faltered snapped into equal firmness with their captain and Brook.

"Very good," Nico Robin said with a smirk, withdrawing a pair of tomes from her robe. She approached the heads of the Rumbar Pirates, giving one to each of them.

"One of those is a guide on how to discern the meaning of Poneglyphs. If you deem yourselves strong enough to have a fighting chance of reaching the end of the Grand Line, then that will be the final key. The other is a record of future events. With how far we are in the past, all of you have a significant chance to change things. Countless atrocities and disasters can be averted. But the choice is ultimately yours."

"And now," growled an eager voice from another cloaked figure, who removed his hood to show a green-haired man with one eye scarred shut. "How about some more thorough training instructions while we have the time?"

* * *

The remainder of the hour was the second hardest and longest of the Rumbar Pirates' lives, after the one where they had to force themselves to ignore Laboon before they headed to Reverse Mountain. So many techniques, so many abilities, so many options, so much pain... _so much pain._

Five minutes after that declaration of training, during which time both Laboon (to his joy) and the freshly awakened Crocus (to his bemusement) had been briefed on the situation and their extended hiatus, they had plunged into the most memorable training session that any of them could imagine.

Monkey D. Luffy was a young-looking man with a harmless-looking face, and being made of rubber made him look more funny than threatening at first. He also had the ability to knock them out with a single thought, and claimed that he could punch through the Red Line if he had more time. They believed him after they watched him inflate his fist and hardened it into what looked like obsidian. Suffice to say that the group following him learned the basics of Haki training...the hard way.

Roronoa Zoro made up for his youthful appearance with his missing eye and the sheer aura of power and intimidation that he exuded. Aside from Brook, every swordsman among the Rumbar Pirates—and several who had been considering using swords—learned what he had to teach them, the words of the world's greatest swordsman engraving themselves within their hearts, never to fade.

Jinbe the fishman and Sanji the chef spent most of their time instructing on melee and martial arts techniques. But in Sanji's case, he along with Nami the navigator, Chopper the human-reindeer doctor, and Franky the cyborg shipwright spent a significant portion of time lecturing the Rumbar Pirate or pirates who held that crucial position on the crew. The guidance was enough to double each of their respective skills, and set them on the path to grow more in the coming years.

Nico Robin spoke privately with Yorki concerning the knowledge she had given him and how he could use it. Assassinations, Celestial Dragons, framings, revolutions...there was enough to make the captain's head spin. Robin was adamant about ensuring that the book found its way to Ohara when he had changed all that he could, but he promised that he would do everything in his power to reshape the future for the better.

And Brook, naturally, spent the time talking to his older self, learning more about his Devil Fruit powers and more about the crew that he could and would sail with in his next life. Fifty years seemed like a long time to wait, but with all of the changes he knew that the time travelers' arrival would bring, it would be a welcome challenge and distraction to locate each member who would be his comrade in the future, however things turned out.

As the final minutes of the time travel arrived, however, and the two crews faced each other fully, the Straw Hat Pirates as a whole seemed a bit melancholy. The one of their number in the past was the one who noticed first.

"What's the matter? You've reshaped the entire future with what you've done here," Brook said curiously.

"Yeah...but it really sucks that it only works here," Sanji replied.

"This is an alternate reality from the one that we live in," Robin said. "We can change all that we want here, but it won't change anything for us. And this is our final jump to the past; after this, we'll be returning to our own time."

"Even so...I consider it well worth it to have been able to correct so much that could have gone wrong. Laboon can avoid his many, many scars this time," the skeletal Brook said, his smile visible. "And I would have returned a thousand times just to be able to see all of the Rumbar Pirates once more. This...I have no regrets."

The rest of the crew smiled in agreement. And in the next moment, the time travelers began to shine.

"And that would be our cue," the skeleton continued. He swept his arm down in an elaborate bow. "Farewell, my comrades. I will always cherish this encounter in my heart."

The Rumbar Pirates smiled.

"Or I would, if I had a heart. _YOHOHOHOHOHO! SKULL JOKE!"_

The Rumbar Pirates face-faulted.

"Eurgh. Be glad that you only had to put up with one of those while we were here," Sanji muttered.

"What do you mean, that was genius! Yohohoho!" past Brook chortled, earning several exasperated looks from his comrades. Yorki, however, had a wide grin as he faced the skeleton.

"Don't ever change, Brook. Captain's orders."

Tears leaked from the skeleton's sockets as he raised his arm in a salute. And then the light vanished, and the pirates disappeared along with it.

 **And there we have it. Now, mind you, this isn't the end, I do have an epilogue in mind, and I rather like the idea I've come up with for it. Hopefully you will as well. However, finals week is coming up; I'd like to promise that I'll have it published within a week, but I do promise that I'll have it out before the month's end. Until then, one last time: Patience is a virtue.**


	14. Epilogue: The Old Woman

Wakefulness was slow to return to the Straw Hats as they woke up back on Rusukaina Island. One and all, they were lying on the bare ground of the forest, and as they stirred from their sleep, they felt simultaneously as though they had just awakened from the best sleep of their lives and as though they hadn't slept in days. The fatigue slipped away as they got better hold of their senses, but as all of them—even the heavy sleepers like Luffy and Zoro—got to their feet, a different sort of weakness made itself clear to them in the form of a familiar growling sound.

"Ohh, I'm so hungry," the rubber man moaned.

"So am I," Usopp agreed, clutching his belly.

"I'm feeling rather famished myself," Robin said with a frown.

"My apologies."

All attention snapped to where a familiar old man stood alongside ten more figures, shrouded in black just as the Straw Hats had been.

"Thought you said you'd be gone by the time we got back?" Zoro asked quizzically.

"I suppose I underestimated your efforts. You see, my powers work by sending a projection of your consciousness across time and space. Your real bodies have been here on this island the whole time; it was only your minds that returned to the past. And I regret to say that I underestimated the amount of energy you would be using; I had no choice but to draw it out of your own stores, as I didn't have enough energy of my own to preserve you all for the full eleven hours. The resulting fatigue has had you all asleep for the last two days."

"Two whole days?!" demanded most of the crew, none louder than Luffy.

"Yes, but on the bright side, that afforded me enough time to recover my powers so that I could show you how you've changed things."

The Straw Hats stared at the man.

"I told the truth when I said that what you did would change nothing in this world...not as far as history goes, anyway. But it appears that even my studies are not enough to understand the exact mechanics of how time and dimensions work. After all, in my allowing you to return to your pasts and save your loved ones...I saved my own life."

With that, the old man's form began to change. The raggedy black outfit with which he was shrouded smoothed out, and grew more curvaceous. His grizzled hair straightened and brightened, growing only over the back of his head, rather than over his eyes. The face grew more youthful, and the blue eyes beneath were revealed.

The crew as a whole stared in shock, but Robin was outright gaping. "M...Mom?"

The form of Nico Olvia smiled lovingly. "I promised your younger self that I would stay with her, but while her powers' development helped her to come and go from Ohara as she wished, the rest of us were not so fortunate. Then, one day, she came across the Astral-Astral Fruit, and thought that it would be the perfect way for us to stay together despite being apart. But looking more closely into the fruit's mechanics, it didn't take me long to understand that it was the one that sent you back to me in the first place.

"I trained my powers until I gained the ability to look across space and time, and while much of my research has gone to expanding the Tree of Knowledge, I never stopped searching for the one timeline where you had found that strange old man. Then, when I found this one, I understood: it was a future that I had already written, but had yet to experience myself."

"I'm getting a headache from all of this," Nami grumbled.

Olvia chuckled. "Don't think about it too hard. But anyway, I should get to the main point: I'm not the only one who's here to thank you."

The remaining figures lowered their hoods in unison: Portgas D. Ace, Kuina, Bell-mère, Banchina, Doctor Hiriluk, Tom, Yorki, Fisher Tiger, Donquixote Rocinante, and a strange little girl...one that they all recognized with merely a thought: Going Merry.

The Straw Hat Pirates continued to stare as their deceased loved ones smiled back at them.

"I can't maintain our presences here for much longer, we've been waiting for you all to awaken for quite a while. But suffice to say that your efforts will bear fruit for you in this world as well," Olvia smiled.

"We may not be able to be together as much as we'd like to, Luffy, but I can still visit you," Ace said with a smile.

"All of us have gone through our lives for the better thanks to your interventions," Fisher Tiger continued.

"Well, so far; after all, besides Olvia, it's only been a year for each of us since we last met you all," Kuina smirked.

"But the fact remains that we can return the favor thanks to Olvia," Banchina smiled.

"You should bring Trafalguy, too, when we can all be together again," Merry suggested.

"It would be wonderful to see how strong Law has become," Rocinante said quietly.

"Bring all your friends, we'll make a party out of it," Bell-mère chuckled.

"Now, _that_ sounds like fun," Yorki grinned.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing and hearing more of what you've done, Chopper," Hiriluk said with a wide, proud smile.

"And it would be my honor to see the Thousand Sunny as it will one day be," Tom finished.

Not one of the Straw Hats was capable of speaking. Silence fell for ten seconds before Olvia sighed with a chuckle, and spoke again.

"Allow me to clarify. My powers do have limits, but I can manage a group projection like this every once in a while. So, once a year, on the anniversary of the day you saved us all, we'll come to this world from sunrise to sunrise. One day out of the year, we'll be together again."

It was Luffy who finally broke out of the stupor first; even his growling belly seemed suppressed as he rushed forwards and crushed his brother tight within his grasp. "Ace can come back...I'm so happy," he cried. The fire-man simply held his brother tight.

"Once a year? Considering that I never thought I could ever see you again, that's more priceless than One Piece itself," Nami whispered, tears of joy coming from her eyes as she embraced her mother.

And so it went, the Straw Hats embracing their loved ones, Merry taking turns hugging each of the crew. The only exceptions were Zoro, who merely grasped hands with Kuina as they had the day they made their vow, and Sanji, who was content to simply sing the praises of Olvia for all of her goodness and mercy.

Alas, it couldn't last longer than a minute or so, for it was then that the light began emanating from the ten figures. The Straw Hats slowly, most reluctantly, released their friends and family and stepped back. Olvia faced them all with a warm smile.

"Remember, this isn't goodbye. It's just 'see you later,'" she promised.

"We'll be counting the days," Robin promised fervently.

"So will the rest of us," Brook swore.

"T-Take care, Mom. I'll be sure to bring Dad for the next time you show up," Usopp promised.

The two groups exchanged smiles and waves. And then, at last, the morning light faded, and the formerly deceased loved ones of the Straw Hats with it.

For a moment, nobody moved. Then all of them once again became acutely aware of how _hungry_ they were.

"Hey, cook? How about a banquet fit for a king to celebrate the best thing that's happened to us since Luffy took the throne?" Zoro suggested with a grin.

Sanji puffed a bit of smoke out of his cigarette, matching his rival's grin tooth for tooth. "A momentous day indeed when I have no choice but to say 'Excellent idea, Mosshead.'"

"Last one to the ship does the dishes!" Usopp's voice echoed, his afterimage fading.

"HEY, NO FAIR!" Luffy and Chopper called as they pursued him.

One by one, the crew all vanished, racing back to their ship. Just another day in the Grand Blue ocean.

Just another impossible wish come true.

 **So, that's that. If the Straw Hats get another member further down the line, then I'll be editing this whole story appropriately, and I'll be tweaking it as the story goes on in order to keep it faithful to canon, but for now? The story is complete. Perhaps I'll brainstorm a continuation(s) or midquel(s) to it, if my mind comes up with enough good ideas, but time will tell. And until it does, this is The Patient One, thanking you all for your patience along the way here. Thank you to Blueh for this fantastic concept and allowing me to adopt it. Thank you to The-Lost-Samurai and especially lunanime for help on perfecting this story. And last but not least, thank you to all of you for reading.**


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